


Harry Potter and the Dark Healer

by Suburbanwriter



Series: Harry Potter and the Dark Healer [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Daphne Greengrass - Freeform, Daphne Greengrass is a good friend, Dark Magic, Dark is not Evil, Disfigurement, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter Friendship, Evil Ron Weasley, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, Good Pansy Parkinson, Good Severus Snape, Good Theodore Nott, Green Mother, Green faces, Harry Potter - Freeform, Harry Potter was Adopted by Other(s), Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), Harry and Draco, Harry and Draco are friends, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, Magical Experiments, Malfoy Manor, Masks, Mentor Severus Snape, Mentor Snape, Millicent Bulstrode - Freeform, Neville Longbottom is a Good Friend, Original Harry Potter Characters - Freeform, POV Harry Potter, Ron Weasley Bashing, Rubeus hagrid - Freeform, Slow Romance, Slytherin, Slytherin Harry, Slytherin Pride, Slytherin kids, Slytherin!Harry, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Tracy Davis - Freeform, Uncanny Valley, What-If, green skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-10-09 12:31:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 68,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17406947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suburbanwriter/pseuds/Suburbanwriter
Summary: What if things were different when Dumbledore dumped baby Harry on the Dursley's doorstep? What if Harry was abducted by a hag who decided to raise him as her own and still send him to Hogwarts when the time came? And what if he were unbiased about the houses when he arrived at Hogwarts? This story is about a Slytherin Harry, raised by the hag, Cora Coldfire. He makes friends with the Slytherin kids and finds out that they are just normal kids.  Harry will be friends with Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and all the Slytherin girls in his year - Sharp tongued Pansy, prissy Daphne, tomboy Millie, super-smart self-dramatizing Tracy and warm hearted aspiring Dark Healer Sadie.  What wild and magical adventures will they have?  Can they contest with the evil, trouble-making Ron Weasley and the bullying Weasley Twins?  Will Harry, Draco and their friends bridge the gaps between houses?  Will Hermione Granger be an ally?  What can they do when Quirrell becomes a threat?  Harry becomes especially good friends with Sadie McIntyre, the Dark Healer.  Will she be able to help him by using her dark powers when Voldemort rears his evil head?





	1. Cora Coldfire

A man with a long, sweeping beard and star spangled robes stood in Privet Drive. With him, stood a witch with square spectacles and her hair in a tight bun. They were so intent on their own conversation, that they did not realise they were being watched by a shadowy shape crouched behind the dustbins. The eavesdropper listened to them closely. She was practiced at keeping a low profile.

"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now," said Dumbledore.

"You don't mean-you can't mean – the people who live here?" Cried McGonagall pointing at number four. "You can't. I've seen them. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people less like us – and as for their son… I saw him kicking his mother and screaming for sweets all the way up the street. Harry Potter, live here!"

"It's the best place for him. His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him. I've written them a letter," said Dumbledore firmly.

The eavesdropper shifted in surprise. Why indeed would anyone think it a good idea to put a magical child with the muggliest muggles of them all? And to her greater surprise, McGonagall capitulated. Did Dumbledore have her under some kind of mind control?

A low rumbling sound filled the air and a motorbike alighted on the road. The driver was a twice the height of a man, and five times as wide. Clearly a half-giant, but it seemed he was good at blending in with wizards and concealing his true heritage. Not all those of giant descent could do that. The hidden eavesdropper knew this all too well. In his vast arms, she saw the half-giant carried a little bundle swaddled in blankets. Her heart swelled with emotion. He was a half-giant, and yet he was allowed to hold the child… And the poor child. He'd lost his family and now Dumbledore was going to dump him with those awful muggles and would go off and enjoy the celebrations with no further thought? This could not be.

Dumbledore reignited the street lamps and the eavesdropper wrapped herself tighter in her cloak to stay hidden. The half-giant left on the bike, McGonagall turned into a cat and left and Dumbledore was gone with a swish of his cloak. They were actually leaving the baby outdoors in Surrey in November! With foxes and other scavengers around. Including the eavesdropper herself. Outrageous…

The listener crept out of her hiding place and gazed down at the sleeping baby.

"You can't stay here, chubby little thing," she murmured in her husky voice. "It's dangerous. But you can't stay with those awful, muggly muggles. They're terrible. I know. I go through their dustbins sometimes and I've seen them. Huh. McGonagall knew and she didn't care. But I'm the lonely scavenger and I do care."

The baby was so delicate… so perfect, even with that scar on his forehead. She felt indignation rise up in her. "I won't be alone anymore. I'm sick of being alone and unloved. Well no more. We're going to be happy."

Her green hands reached out from under her cloak and she picked the baby up, holding him close to her face. "I'll be your mother… your sister… your friend."

00O00

Ten Years Later

Harry was having the nightmare he frequently did. A flash of green light, and a high, cold, cruel laugh. He woke up in a cold sweat and his mother gathered him in her arms. "There, there, sweetling…" Her long, green face framed by flaming red hair, smiled down at him. Such a clash of bright colours.

His mother was the hag, Cora Coldfire. She had rescued him when he was very small. He knew his story, of course. A terrible, evil wizard, one who styled himself 'Lord Voldemort' had killed his human parents, and he had had no magical family. Albus Dumbledore, Head of the Wizengamot, had been going to dump him on a muggle household.

Harry and Cora pressed their noses together as they always did to show they loved each other. Cora's face was cold and clammy. He was wrapped in his bed of animal skins in her cave in the sewers. She rocked him. "That old monster is gone now. It was you who did that," she crooned. "My special little boy."

A beetle crawled onto Harry's bed of animal furs. "Ooh no you don't," said Cora, and snatched the beetle up in her long green fingers, popped it in her mouth and started crunching. Living in the sewers, Cora could never get rid of all the vermin in their cave, but she could eat any that bothered Harry.

"There. Nothing's going to bother my boy. Hello, what's this?"

There was a hooting sound and an owl flew into the cave. "What are you doing down here, little owl?" said Cora. "What've you got there?" The owl dropped a letter in her lap and flew out of the cave again.

The hag picked up the letter in her long green fingers and read aloud:

"Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July."

Cora let out a sigh.

"What's wrong, Mum?" asked Harry, taking her clammy green hand in both of his.

"I knew this day would come, my love… your magical gift is different to mine, so there isn't much I can teach you about it. Mine grew in me from birth and I could always control it, but you my boy… You have to go to that place to learn how to control the magic in you, or it could hurt your health. I've read about such things. We don't have a choice… I'd rather you go away to school than your magic hurt you."

Harry touched her cold cheek. "Don't be sad, Mum."

She ruffled his hair. "I am sad, but it can't be helped."

After they had breakfasted on fish – Cora's raw and Harry's fried – Cora wrapped herself tightly in her hooded cloak, they made their way through the streets of London, holding hands. Cora kept her head down so her hood wouldn't slip. They found the Leaky Cauldron, and sighing in relief, Cora crossed the threshold and threw back her hood.

It was a tiny, grubby pub, dark and shabby, like the sewers. The barman looked like a gummy walnut. He looked up. "Good Lord… Harry Potter… what an honour!"

Ignoring Cora, the patrons crowded round Harry, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. Harry knew he was famous in the hidden magical community, although it was still weird to experience it first hand.

"So proud Mr Potter…"

"My names Dedalus Diggle," said a little man in a top hat. He bowed low and his hat fell off.

"Hello!" said Harry beaming. He seemed like a nice little guy.

A pale, twitching man made his way forward, but then at the sight of Cora, he gasped and dived under the table.

"Don't worry, Professor Quirrell had trouble with a wicked hag at some point," said Dedalus.

Cora sniffed and folded her arms. "I'm not wicked. Come, Harry."

She led Harry into Diagon Alley. They had been here before. Cora didn't have to wear her cloak and hood here. Several boys around Harry's age were crowded around a shop window with a mahogany broomstick on display. "Look! Nimbus 2000. Fastest ever."

Cora stopped to watch them. "Awwww… human boys are adorable. I always thought so. Look how excited they are over an old broom."

"Come on, Mum, I wanna see Gringotts," said Harry, tugging her arm.

They reached a snow white building that towered over the little shops. They walked up a pair of white, stone steps, passed through a pair of bronze doors and came to a pair of silver doors, with this poem engraved upon them:

Enter stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn

Must pay most dearly in their turn

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours

Thief you have been warned, beware!

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Scary, eh?" muttered Cora, leading Harry passed a pair of swarthy goblins and into the bank.

"Hello, there," said Cora to a free goblin, "can you take us to Mr Potter's vault?"

The goblin gazed at Harry. "Very well. That is Harry Potter, even though you are a hag."

Cora scowled and brushed her long red hair away from her green face. "I'm his bloody mother. We're just here to get enough for his school things."

The goblin snapped his fingers. "Griphook! Take Mr Potter down to his vault. See the hag doesn't pinch anything."

Cora scowled and folded her arms.

Griphook led them through a pair of double doors and into a rough, stone passage with crude railway tracks. They crowded into a cart which rolled down and down, through the winding passage and into a dank cavern with stalactites and stalagmites. This far beneath the ground, the air was damp and chill, like in the sewers. Harry peered curiously over the side, but Cora grabbed him and hauled him back, keeping her strong arms tight around him. "Don't be daft," she growled. "This cart is … it's awful."

"You get motion sickness," said Griphook. "That's why you're green, hag?"

"Ha ha. Don't call me 'hag.' My name is Cora, but to you, it can be Miss Coldfire."

Griphook ignored her. They plunged deeper into the earth and into another cavern, lit up ghostly green by some freak property of the rocks. Then they saw a gout of searing flame… "The dragon is loose," gasped Griphook. "There is an intruder here…" They heard the beating of huge wings and the shadow of huge, bat shaped wings loomed over them.


	2. Diagon Alley

As the dragon loomed over them, Cora took a pebble from a pouch around her waste and chucked one in the direction of the corner of the cavern.

"The dragon is blind… poor thing," said Cora.

The sound of the pebble echoed around the cavern and the dragon stopped to investigate the corner of the cavern as the cart rattled past.

Eventually they reached Harry's vault. Cora helped Harry out of the cart. Griphook unlocked the vault door and there was a puff of green smoke. When it cleared, Harry saw piles of bronze knuts, columns of silver, mounds of gold coloured galleons … "All yours Mr Potter," said Griphook.

"It should see you comfortably through school, my love," said Cora, the light of the vault shining off her green nose and cheeks.

"This is all they had?" said Harry.

"They spent most in the wizarding war – and leased the Potter manor out too," said Griphook.

Cora looked troubled. "Well there you go, then. That was a good reason."

One wild cart ride later, they were outside Gringotts again and it was time to get Harry fitted with new robes.

"Madame Malkin won't let a hag in her shop," said Cora, wrinkling her shiny green nose. "I'll be waiting outside."

Madame Malkin was a smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts dear? Got the lot here. Another young man being fitted up."

The other young man was a boy with a pale, pointed face and silver blond hair that looked slicked down.

"Hullo," he said. "Hogwarts too?"

Cora had advised Harry to try and get on with everyone. "Yes!" he said. "Good to meet you."

The boy nodded. "Know what house you'll be in?"

"Not yet," said Harry. "And it's difficult to decide which is best."

"I know I'll be in Slytherin. All our family have been. Imagine being in Hufflepuff. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Harry thought that was melodramatic, but he thought he should be agreeable. "Maybe. Maybe I would."

The boy pointed. Harry saw Professor Quirrell skulking around the street. "Look at that man."

"That's Professor Quirrell. He works at Hogwarts."

"Yes. The Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher. I understand the Defence teachers are a sorry crew, and he's no exception. He's scared of everything. What a wash out."

"I thought as much," said Harry, happy at least that Quirrell hadn't singled out his mother to act scared in front of. When I saw him in the Leaky Cauldron, he was frightened of his own shadow."

The boy laughed and they left on cheery terms having shared that bit of gossip about a teacher.

They stopped off in the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Cora had a plate of raw sheep's liver which she tore into with great gusto and Harry had sausage and chips.

"That went alright, dear?" asked the hag, gazing at him with dark eyes, bits of liver around her mouth.

"I think so. Hogwarts students seem a friendly bunch."

"Yes, you do need to be around magical kids your own age," she said, her voice quivering a little.

They stopped in Flourish and Blotts for school books. Harry noticed a book, Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your friends and befuddle your Enemies with the latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue Tying and much much more) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"Look at that," he pointed.

Cora nodded. "There, you see, your magic does work differently to mine. A lot of it is about using books."

They visited the apothecary which smelled of bad eggs and rotted cabbage. Cora sniffed the air deeply. "I can't help it… this is making me kind of hungry."

"You've just had lunch, Mum," said Harry laughing at her.

While Cora bought some basic potion ingredients, Harry looked at the strange items on offer, including unicorn horns (21 galleons each) and black beetle eyes (five knuts a scoop).

Outside, the hag checked the list. "A birthday present, next. I've been saving up for one."

"Oh Mum, you don't have to."

"Nonsense, Harry. I'll get you a familiar. Not a toad. I find them tasty, but they're useless. How about an owl to carry your post?"

They made a quick trip to Eeylops Owl Emporium, which was dark and full of rustling and hooting. Cora could see in the dark, no problem. Harry now carried a large cage with a beautiful snowy owl. He kissed Cora in thanks (she still smelled of liver) and they rubbed their noses together.

"Now you need a way to channel your magic," said Cora. "That way it can be directed as you want and with the right guidance, you can stop it building up in you."

She pointed at a narrow and shabby shop. Ollivanders Makers of Fine wands since 382 BC.

"That long?" said Harry.

"I know, love. It boggles the mind," said Cora.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the shop as they stepped inside. It was dark and dingy and piles of long boxes for wands all around them. They kept hold of each other's hands. Cora made a sniffing sound. "I don't like it here. So much pent up magic. It's unnatural. Ah. You must be Mr Ollivander. How do you do?"

Harry suddenly noticed an old man with glowing silver eyes nearby them.

"Greetings, hag. You can't be here to buy anything. But Mr Potter is. I remember, Mr Potter, when your true mother bought her first wand. She was a real, rosy cheeked beauty of a witch. Not green and strange."

"Alright, don't throw that at me," snapped Cora.

"I remember when your mother bought her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches. Willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father favoured mahogany. Eleven inches. Pliable. Excellent for Transfiguration."

"Good to know," said Cora.

"And that is where…," Ollivander pointed at the scar.

"Watch it," growled Cora.

"I regret to say that I sold the wand that did it," said Ollivander. "13 and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…" he sighed and shook his head.

"Yes well… no use thinking of that now," said Cora, her green face crinkling into a scowl. "Let's get on with finding Harry a wand."

After setting an enchanted tape measure to measure Harry, Ollivander made him try out different wands, but none of them seemed to satisfy him. Eventually he seemed to have a thought. "Try this one. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches…"

At the touch of the wand, a warmth spread through Harry's fingers. He swished it down and the shop filled with golden lights, lighting up the stacks of wand boxes and his mother's green face.

Cora clapped and whooped. "You did it. Now you needn't have pent up magic in you."

Ollivander wrapped the wand. "Curious… curious…"

"What's curious?" said Cora, raising her eyebrows.

"That Mr Potter should be destined for this wand … The phoenix that supplied the feather gave one another. Curious that Mr Potter should be destined for this wand when its brother gave him that scar."

"That's enough of that." snapped the hag, breathing through her nose, her breast rising and falling.

After paying for the wand, they left Diagon Alley and made their way though the leaky cauldron and then down the passage in the subway back to Cora's cave in the sewers. She collapsed onto her bed of animal skins. "Back again."

Harry sat with her and she put an arm around him. "I didn't want to say anything in the shop, but with Mr Ollivander, you can see that magic can do weird things to a human if it is pent up, or even if it is not. Powerful wizards and witches go a bit strange when they get old. Talking about stuff like that in front of you… honestly."

"It's a bit scary, going to Hogwarts for the first time," said Harry.

She touched his cheek with her clammy hand and sniffed. "You'll do fine, sweetie. Think of it as a big adventure."


	3. Journey from Platform 9 3/4

September 1st dawned and the first streaks of sunlight streamed through the cracks in the roof of Cora's cave. The hag kissed Harry good morning. "It's time my love. But I'll not be far away. I'll move to the Forbidden Forest in the Hogwarts grounds. That's a weird place that seems to be bigger than it looks on the outside."

Near the cave, there was a magical underground river that welled up from deep beneath the earth and was uncontaminated by sewage. Harry bathed in it and Cora caught breakfast – fish again. She dived under the water and when she emerged, there was an eel wriggling in her jaws.

After they had breakfasted, the hag swathed herself in her hooded cloak and took Harry and his trunk with his snowy owl to King's Cross station. Harry had decided to call the owl Hedwig.

Cora and Harry watched as a lady with a crowd of red headed kids stood near the enchanted barrier to Platform 9 ¾.

All but one of the kids were boys. "Lucky her. Wish I had more sons," murmured Cora.

"Aren't I enough?" said Harry, sticking out his tongue.

"I admire male energy," said Cora. "You brought new life to my home in the sewers. I would like at least six more sons."

The witch was speaking: "Percy. You first."

The oldest boy walked through the barrier.

"Fred. You next."

"I'm George," said the boy sniggering.

"Nice try. You've got an F on your shirt," said the witch.

Cora chuckled. When the twins had gone through and their younger brother had followed, Harry and Cora went through hand in hand. On the platform, Cora through back her hood and she and Harry hugged and kissed goodbye.

Cora was crying now, the tears rolling down her green cheeks. "I will come in a few days... I might be able to get a job at Hogwarts. I understand Dumbledore might give me a chance where no previous head would have done. If not, I will stay close by."

Harry was glad. When they had hugged and kissed some more, the train was getting ready to leave, so they hauled the trunk and cage onto the train and Cora waved as the train left the platform.

Harry looked for somewhere to sit.

"Hey, you there!" A familiar voice said, and Harry whirled around to see the blond boy with the pale, pointed face from Madam Malkin's shop staring after him. He didn't think he'd ever caught his name.

Smiling slightly awkwardly, Harry waved back at him. "Hello."

The boy bustled over to him, his own smile completely sure. "I remember you. We met in Madame Malkin's."

Harry nodded. "Oh yes! We saw Professor Quirrell creeping around as well, frightened of his own shadow." Harry remembered Quirrell's theatrics in the Leaky Cauldron, pretending to be frightened of his mother. That had not endeared Quirrell to Harry. Not at all. He had enjoyed gossiping about the stupid teacher.

The blond boy laughed. "You're alright, kid. Do you have a place to sit yet?" When Harry shook his head, the boy grabbed his arm and practically dragged him into the compartment he'd been in.

Inside were three other people - two large, stocky boys who were sharing some cakes and chocolate between them, and three girls. One, a girl with dark hair and a snubbed nose, another, a big girl with straight hair and a square jaw. The third girl was very small and thin. She had long hair dyed purple, a freckled nose and cheeks, and wide blue eyes with an oblique, staring expression. They all looked at him in surprise as the boy presented him to them with a flourish.

"This is Pansy, Milly, Sadie, Crabbe and Goyle." He introduced, sounding very formal, as if he were at some kind of fancy party. As he spoke their names, each waved and gave slightly strained smiles. "And this is..." The boy blinked at him, suddenly realising he didn't know his name. "I don't believe we introduced ourselves last time we met. I'm Draco Malfoy. What's your name?"

Swallowing, Harry ducked his head. "Harry Potter." He muttered, fighting the flush that threatened to creep up his face. Silence followed his proclamation.

Finally, it was broken by Pansy, who looked puzzled. "You're lying. No way you're Harry Potter."

"Pansy…" cautioned Sadie, the girl with purple hair, touching Pansy's arm gently.

Indignation flashed through Harry, and he gave her a heated look. "Yes I am! Why would I lie?" Judging by the look on Pansy's face that was a rather stupid question, but before she could respond, Draco thrust his hand at him.

"This is brilliant! I was just about to go and try to find Harry Potter. This saves time." Draco's smile had just a hint of a smirk.

Harry tilted his head, not taking the hand. "Why were you looking for me?"

Frowning, Draco slowly lowered his limb. "To become friends with you, of course. Why did you think?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You wanted to become friends with me before you really got to know me? Why is that?"

A scoff was his answer. "Because being friends with Harry Potter would stand me in good stead later. Father recommended it. When he recommends something, I take him seriously. I really do." Seeing on his face that Harry was not impressed by that logic, Draco scoffed. "Oh, please. It's a smart thing to do. Besides, I knew you were alright even before I knew you were Harry Potter, remember? So, what does it matter, in the big scheme of things, eh?"

"Yes, you were meant to be friends," said Sadie grinning. "I could see that right away."

On a little reflection, Harry could see Draco's logic. Besides, Cora told him to make friends, and now he could have six. That would please her, like becoming friends with Harry Potter would please Draco's father. Harry stuck out his hand with a small smile, and Draco took it gleefully, shook it once hard, and then dragged him into the seat next to him. "So, what class are you looking forward to most?"

Harry hesitated as he finally settled into the comfortable, plush seats. "Good question. My father favoured Transfiguration. My birth mother favoured Charms."

"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration, myself." Said Draco.

"Me too," said Sadie. "Although it's a tough subject."

"I'm looking forward to Potions," Pansy drawled. "My dad's a fantastic potions maker."

Harry opened his mouth to ask the other two boys, Crabbe and Goyle, what they were looking forward to, but they grinned stupidly at him.

"They're not at Hogwarts to study," said Draco, smirking.

Harry looked out the windows to watch the sheep and cows and long, vast stretches of green. He had never really spent a lot of time around kids his own age before. If Cora thought he needed to, then he guessed she was right.

"Tea trolley! Anything from the trolley?"

Harry looked over at the kind looking, older woman pushing a small trolley as she clanked her way into their cart. Crabbe and Goyle bought an assortment of items and Harry stood, interest piqued, and bought a bit of everything. He ended up handing the witch a palmful of galleons, watching as she politely, quietly counted it out and then he dropped back into his seat.

"Hungry are you?" Pansy sneered slightly, looking over her copy of the Daily Prophet and the other two girls smiled at him.

Harry grinned at her as he unwrapped a pumpkin pasty and bit into it. He offered his horde to the others, and Draco leaned forward and plucked up a chocolate frog. The frog leaped from the box and Draco plucked it off the arm rest before taking a box and examining the card with a curious expression.

"I've got Merlin again. Milly, don't you need Merlin?"

"Thanks, Draco," said Milly. Harry noticed she had a hag like jaw and warmed to her.

"Have lots of my tastiest candy," he said, shoving all the best sweets at her. She accepted the pile, blushing. She would be even more lovable if she had green skin.

Harry reached for a bag of Every Flavour Beans. He grabbed a white one, fairly certain that was a relatively safe bet, and bit into it. Thankfully it was marshmallow, and he swallowed happily. He held out the bag in offer, and Draco held out his hand for a handful. Upon getting them, Draco started picking out the bad ones with practiced expertise.

At that moment, a girl with bushy brown hair peeked her head in. "Has anyone seen a toad running around?" The various occupants shook their head, and she frowned. "Okay, but if you see one, it's probably a boy named Neville's. If you would please let him or me know, that would be lovely." She ducked back out and closed the door with a click.

As soon as she did, Draco and Pansy shared a look over Harry's head. "What do you think?" The dark haired girl asked.

"Muggleborn, most likely." He scrunched up his nose like he'd smelled something awful, and the two laughed.

Between them, Harry frowned. "What's so funny about being Muggleborn?"

"Well, they're worse, aren't they?" Draco said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Bristling slightly, Harry sat up straight and looked the other boy in the eye. "My birth mother was a Muggleborn."

"So was my grandmother," said Milly frowning.

"Yeah, Draco, there are Muggleborns and there are Muggleborns," said Sadie.

Pansy and Draco both blinked. Clearly they had forgotten about that. Backtracking quickly, Draco held his hands up in a placating gesture. "That's what my Father says, is all. But everyone knows that Purebloods are better at magic."

With a frown, Harry pressed his bag of Every Flavour Beans to his chest, wondering if he should leave. "I'm not Pureblood, but I don't think it's fair to say that I'm not good at magic. I haven't even really tried yet, have I?"

Sharing one last slightly panicked look with Pansy, Draco shrugged. "I guess it's just a general rule, maybe? I don't know, I've never met anyone who isn't a Pureblood." He frowned as he considered that.

Silence ruled the compartment for a while, broken only by the sounds of Crabbe and Goyle grunting as they mucked about, oblivious to everything else. Pansy looked out the window, seeming slightly desperate for something to do. "Oh, there's the station!" She exclaimed. "We'd better get our robes on - we'll be there in just a few minutes."

The girls left the compartment to change in the loo and the boys changed quickly. Harry tugged his robe over his head just in time to see Draco drape his robe over himself - the rest of his body was just as pale as his face and hair. Harry flopped down on the seat again and fiddled with a piece of licorice wand before he nibbled on it idly.

"You're alright, Harry."

Harry looked over at Draco and shrugged. "Thanks."

"I mean..." Draco hesitated a moment, and scratched at the back of his neck. "I mean you're all right by me."

Harry offered a small smile and nodded his head in thanks. "You're not so bad either."

Sadie came back in. "Now, Draco. Are you going to say sorry for your mistake earlier. Everyone makes mistakes," said Sadie sternly.

"Yes," said Draco blushing. "Sorry I was mistaken about Muggleborns."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement.

Pansy entered the compartment again, shoving her clothing into a small bag before she draped herself back in her seat. "That girl, the one who came in here earlier, is talking to someone. She sounds like she's eaten the textbooks."

Harry pulled a small face. He wasn't the greatest at remembering facts. History always tended to be his worst subject. "That's a bit intimidating."

"More annoying, really." Pansy stood when the train slowed before finally halting and they left the train.

They headed down to the boats, and were sectioned off, Harry, Draco, Sadie and Milly boarded the same boat. With that, the boats headed off on the perfectly still surface of the dark water.

When they finally rounded the cove and Harry looked up at Hogwarts for the first time, he couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. It was immense, and twinkling lights glowed in the many windows, like the stars in the night sky. Harry's heart hammered faster and he felt like he was starting out on a new adventure.


	4. The Sorting Hat

The children climbed the stairs, winding and old, up to the castle, and the half-giant leading them knocked. A stern looking witch named Professor McGonagall answered the door and led them to the Entrance Hall. She told them to wait as she went inside the Great Hall.

Harry looked around nervously. He wasn't sure what House he would be in. He recalled Draco saying he would definitely be in Slytherin, so perhaps that was the House for Harry?

Before he could come to any decision, the gangling, redheaded boy he'd seen at King's Cross pushed his way up to him. His wide eyes took in Harry and he frowned. "Why didn't you say you're Harry Potter at the station?" He asked.

Swallowing uncomfortably, Harry's eyes darted around, taking in all the children who were now whispering excitedly. Beside him, Draco tensed, posture subtly switching from normal to a more dignified pose and glared at the gangling, red headed boy.

"There really wasn't time," Harry mumbled.

The boy glared. "You should have sat with me. Since we met before the train and all." He seemed friendly... Harry took the hand, smiling politely. "Ron Weasley is my name, by the way." He grinned at Harry for a moment, but then looked over his shoulder and scowled. Harry turned to head to look back at Draco and saw his expression of distaste. "I think I know who you are. You're Malfoy, aren't you?"

"Correct." Draco drawled, his mannerisms so different now than in the compartment, that it was startling.

Ron's scowl deepened. "I know who you are. The Malfoys are all Dark. You should watch out for him, Harry."

Frowning, Harry stepped away from him and towards Draco. "Draco has been kind to me. Don't talk about him that way." Harry could almost feel the waves of smugness coming off Draco, but decided to deal with that later, instead glaring at Ron, who looked flabbergasted. He looked like he wanted to object, but just then, the doors opened Professor McGonagall returned and promptly hustled them out of the doors and into the Hall.

The long tables were crowded with students clad in black robes, and all of them were staring right at the First Years. Harry tried to shrink back – he hadn't been used to getting attention from crowds when it was just him and Cora in the sewers - but Draco seemed to flourish at the attention and stood up straighter, hustling Harry to the front.

Professor McGonagall stood next to a grimy old hat on a stool. For a brief moment, Harry wondered what exactly they were up to, but then a rip near the hat's brim split open like a mouth and it burst into song:

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The students clapped politely, and then McGonagall pulled a list out and began reading.

First up with Abbot, Hannah, a pink faced girl with blonde pigtails. She was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!" One by one the various students were sorted into one of the four houses. Milly was sorted into Slytherin. When the name, "Granger, Hermione" was called, the bushy-haired girl from the train dashed forward, looking so excited she might explode. When the hat eventually sorted her into Gryffindor after a long silence, she grinned widely and scampered off to the applauding table. Draco followed shortly after, and the hat had barely touched his head before he was sent on his way to Slytherin with a swagger. Sadie was sorted into Slytherin as well, and so was Pansy.

At long last, it was Harry's turn.

Whispers broke out around the hall: "Potter did she say? The Harry Potter?" Harry walked up slowly, indecision still churning in his stomach. He settled down on the stool, and the hat was placed on his head, blocking out the sight of the Hall, and shutting out the sound of the whispering.

There was a pause. Harry waited in silence.

Difficult. Very difficult.

Harry's realised that was the Hat speaking to him!

Plenty of courage I see. Gryffindor trait. A studious mind, no doubt about that. Ravenclaw trait. You've been well cared for. You have a loving guardian who nurtured you so that you became a friendly and loyal little boy. Hufflepuff trait. There's talent. Oh, my goodness, yes. And a nice thirst to prove yourself and to rise in the magical world. Slytherin traits. Now that's interesting… where shall I put you?

Another pause.

I have decided. "SLYTHERIN!"

The hall was dead silent.

Harry slipped the hat off and handed it to McGonagall, who took it numbly, staring at him aghast. Harry walked over to the table Draco had gone to before, slowly and hesitantly. He was nearly halfway there before Draco stood up and started clapping ardently.

As if that had broken the spell, most of the rest of Slytherin started clapping too, at first quietly, and then more enthusiastically. Draco scooted over so Harry could sit next to him.

There was a long moment as McGonagall stood there, rooted in place. What exactly was she thinking. She turned her head and looked back at the table full of teachers behind her, before she finally cleared her throat and moved on to the next student. Gradually, she worked her way down the list and when Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin, the Sorting was finished. Harry peered up at the table full of teachers. Quirrell was there, talking to a hook-nosed teacher. Harry pointed at him.

"Draco, do you know who that is?"

Draco turned his head - he had been talking to Pansy and followed Harry's eyes. "That's Professor Snape. He teaches potions. He's our Head of House."

Harry nodded his eyes to look at the teacher again, who had resumed his conversation with Quirrell. A sudden bolt of pain shot through Harry's scar. Harry winced and touched at his scar gingerly, afraid that it had suddenly started bleeding or burning.

"You alright, Harry?"

Harry shook himself out of his daze at Sadie's anxious voice. He nodded again and made a noncommittal noise. After a moment the searing pain vanished, and Harry tuned into the sound of Dumbledore speaking. He uttered a few nonsensical words – Draco rolled his eyes - and suddenly their plates were filled with roast chicken, roast beef, roast potatoes, cooked veg, liver, tureens of gravy and very strangely, mint humbugs as well. Harry was still hungry - the sweets on the train hadn't been very filling - and he got stuck into everything except the humbugs.

"So," Draco asked, holding up a side plate as the salad served itself before pouring on some dressing. "What neck of the woods have you been living in?"

"Dumbledore was going to foist me on some grumpy Muggles who hate everything magic, so a kind magical lady rescued me and cared for me herself," said Harry.

"I knew the headmaster was mad," said Draco, shaking his head. "Father says he's the worst head ever."

"What does your father do?" Asked Harry, curious.

"He doesn't work. He donates money and time to St. Mungo's and for the Ministry of Magic."

They talked further about Lucius Malfoy and his sphere of influence at the Ministry and then Draco started prattling on about the Ministry of Magic and why some of it - in his opinion - was stupid.

Conversation flowed fairly easily, as the First Years and the occasional older student talked about their lives. The older students talked to him readily, either because he was Harry Potter or because he was sitting next to Draco, whose family was so important in the magical world.

Finally, dinner came to a close, and the Slytherins were directed down stairs to the dungeons. It was a bit of a trip, and Harry worried that he'd never be able to find his way back. Neither Draco nor Pansy seemed to have this fear as they chattered merrily away.

"Can we find our way back?" Harry asked Milly and Sadie.

"Don't worry," said Sadie, giving him a reassuring smile and touching his arm.

Eventually they reached stretch of damp stone wall. One of the older girls - this one wearing a Prefect badge, announced the password: 'Medea', and a passageway appeared.

When they entered the common room, there was an awed moment as the students took in the ornate furniture, and the windows, through which fish could be seen darting around - apparently they were directly under the lake.

Before he could properly take in the entire room, there was the sound of footsteps and Professor Snape entered the room, black cloak billowing out dramatically as he moved. He moved passed the gathered students until he was in plain view of everyone, before clearing his throat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. A few words before you all head to your dorms. For the First Years, I would like to spell out a few...rules, for you. When you are in the school, you act as examples of this House, every one of you. That means that any rule-breaking or dunderheaded nonsense reflect on all of us, including me."

The last words were snapped out, and the First Years all watched him with wide, slightly frightened eyes. "If there is any urgent matter you need help with, you may come to my office, but I will be extremely displeased if it is something that could have been referred to a prefect. I mean it, First Years! Every one of you must take great pains to fit in."

His dark eyes settled on Harry for a moment. He met the Professor's eyes for a second, before ducking his head and putting his hands together nervously. There was a pause and Snape nodded. "Very well. The doors to the dormitories are at the far end of the corridor. Girls on the left and boys on the right. First years are at the very bottom. Mr. Potter." He drawled the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "A word, if you would."

Harry gulped and nodded, following the Professor as he led him back out the passageway and into a room just down the hall. Judging by the desk and shelves it was the man's office. "Yes, sir?" He asked, the words nearly getting stuck in his throat.

"I warn you, Mr. Potter, that your celebrity status will not have the weight you think it will. As I don't wish to have to deal with the repercussions of you throwing your name around, I will tell you this now. Do not do it."

"Why would I do that, sir?" Snape blinked at him, looking slightly confused that he'd even asked that question. When he started to frown Harry continued. "If I use my...celebrity-ness to try to get people to do stuff, then they'll only be doing it because...Well, because a title told them to." He paused and looked down, before looking back up. "I don't want them to like me because I'm the Boy-Who-Lived..." Feeling awkward, he shrugged and shrank back.

Snape was staring at him, dark eyes unreadable, and they searched his face, seeming to look for something. Harry didn't know if he'd found it or not, but the professor took a step back and nodded at him. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Carry on." Clearly dismissed, Harry nodded and murmured a polite good-bye before returning to the common room.

Harry slipped through the door to the boys' dorms and found himself at the top of a winding stair, at the top of what seemed to be an inverted tower. He went down many hundreds of steps, past dorm door after dorm door, down and down, deeper and deeper until he was most likely below the level of the very bottom of the lake. He had a sense of the earth above bearing down on him… At the very, very bottom, the air smelled faintly musty and the round floor was smooth stone. A heavy wooden door was labelled "Jacuzzi." Another was labelled "First Years."

Harry heaved the heavy door open and found himself in a round stone room hung with green tapestries and mats and five ornate poster beds with green curtains. Draco was perched on his own bed, comfortably tucked in and reading a book. He looked over when Harry found his own bed and changed into his pajamas.

Harry looked over in curiosity. "What are you reading?"

"Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires."

"Vampires, eh?"

Draco nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah... My dad met one once."

"Cooollll!"

Draco settled back into bed and Harry pulled over his stack of textbooks, he pulled out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them before beginning to read.

He looked up. "I'm homesick. Would Milly sit with me?"

Draco grinned. "Don't say you fancy her."

"No…" Harry couldn't really say that she reminded him of his mother. Although Milly did look like a hag.

"Well fetch her if you want, but only if you really can't sleep. It would be a bit of a trek for her to get to this dorm from the girls' dorm."

Harry agreed and lay back. He fell into an uneasy sleep and suffered a nightmare, probably brought on by homesickness and missing Cora. He dreamt he saw Professor Quirrell glaring at him and hissing, his eyes flashing red. Harry felt his scar burn and then he awoke and fell asleep again. The next morning, he couldn't remember the dream at all.


	5. Practicing Potions

"There, look!"

"Where?"

"Next to the skinny girl with dyed purple hair."

"Did you see the scar?"

Whispers followed Harry around as soon as he left the dungeons. Keeping track of where he was and how to get to the next classroom would have been impossible without the help of his friends. He's always lived in Cora's stone chamber in the sewers, and Hogwarts was totally different. There were 142 staircases and some of them moved and others had trick steps. There were loads of empty classrooms which made it harder to find the right ones. It was sort of sad really. The school had clearly been meant for a much larger student body.

Harry's friends in Slytherin knew all about Argus Filch – the grumpy caretaker. They also knew about the mysterious bond he had with his awful cat, Mrs Norris and that all kids should avoid them both. The Slytherins had some classes with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. That was alright. But they would have to have Potions with Gryffindor and that was daunting. The Gryffindors did seem a rough lot.

Unsurprisingly, Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell was a complete joke. He was afraid of everything, even his own shadow, and now he wore a ridiculous turban the entire time. Why?

00O00

On Friday morning, the owls began dropping parcels and letters unceremoniously onto the house tables. One dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry snatched it up and recognised his mother's spidery handwriting:

Harry,

I'm delighted to tell you that I've got a job here, at Hogwarts! Professor Dumbledore was so polite about it. I can help out Mr Filch, the caretaker, by doing the dirtier jobs in the castle. Cleaning out toilets and such. It's two galleons a day, although I have to work all the time. Still, at least we'll be together. I know you get Friday afternoons off. Come and find me in the broom cupboard on the first floor at three.

With lots of love,

Mum

Harry hadn't made it clear that his mother was a hag. Who could he tell?

Sadie touched his hand at that moment. "You see, Harry? You are fitting in here."

"Of course, was there every any doubt?" said Draco airily. "Now about Potions, some say that Snape favours us, but that won't stop him giving us loads of homework. In that way he doesn't favour us more than McGonagall favours the Gryffindorks."

Harry thought hard. Who should he tell? Draco, or Sadie?

As they gathered outside the Potions Dungeon, a piping voice rang out; "Malfoy!" Ron Weasley pushed his way forward. "What're you playing at?

"What, Weasley?" Draco drawled, in full on Malfoy Heir mode. Harry rolled his eyes, somewhat used to the display by now. It was all a load of fudge. The Minister himself could not be more insincere.

Ron gestured wildly to Harry, nearly hitting him in the face. Harry flinched back, startled, but Ron didn't notice. "You corrupted The-Boy-Who-Lived, that's what! How did you even manage to do that on the train ride here? Must be Dark magic." 

Bristling, Harry stepped between them. "He didn't do anything except be nice to me! Back off, Weasley!"

"But, Potter!" Ron gaped at him. "How can you say that? He's a Malfoy. No Malfoy is any good. Bad blood, that's what it is. And besides, he's prejudiced about blood."

Sadie scoffed. "Can't you see the irony of what you just said? A so called good guy calling the Malfoys bad blood? I suppose it's alright if a Gryffindor says it?"

"I don't have to explain these things to a girl," said Ron. " But Potter, you're the Boy-Who-Lived! You're supposed to be in Gryffindor."

Harry stared at him for a moment. "But I like Slytherin. Besides, are we even allowed to switches Houses."

"Only in cases of obvious endangerment." The bushy-haired girl - Hermione? - spoke up from the back. "It says so in Hogwarts, A History."

Giving a little shrug, Harry said, "I'm not in danger, so I'll just have stay a Slytherin. Now I'd appreciate it if you would be politer to my friends." He took a step back to stand between Draco and Sadie. "Just 'cause they're Slytherin doesn't mean you can be rude to them."

Ron looked totally confused by the exchange and at that moment, Professor Snape emerged from the dungeon and beckoned them all inside.

"If you're all quite finished with this exhibition, then you could all please get inside to begin the lesson." Snape's eyes snapped away from Harry to rest on Ron. "Ah, another Weasley. That will be 1 point from Gryffindor for accusing another student of illegal acts." With that Snape turned around and glided into the classroom, like a giant bat. Harry frowned at his back - it seemed kind of unfair to take a point the way he had. He cast an apologetic look back at Ron, who was looking completely outraged. Ron was too dim to know immediately how to react, so he settled on a fierce scowl.

As the class began, the candles around the room brightened, casting a ghostly light onto the pale faces of Sadie and Draco who sat with Harry. Snape launched into a speech about the subject.

"You are here to learn the exact art and subtle science of potion making. I can teach you how to brew fame, bottle glory and even stopper death – if you aren't all as big a bunch of dunder-heads as I usually have to teach."

He turned to Harry. "Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry floundered for a moment, caught out, before the reading he'd done with the other First Years came back to him. "Um...some sort of sleeping potion, right? The really powerful one. The...Draught of Living Death?"

"And where would I find a bezoar?"

For the life of him, Harry couldn't remember what one was, but the he could remember where to find them. "Um, the stomach of a goat, sir?"

"Correct." The professor practically purred, the edges of his mouth pulling up in what would be a smile on anyone else. "And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Swallowing the knot in his throat, Harry shook his head. "I...I don't know, sir." His mind whirled and he stared at Snape while he tried to remember. Something in his professor's face made him reconsider, however. He looked like he was devious. His mother had taught him about devious faces. She had an old book about body language and facial expressions. This...was a trick question. "Is there a difference, sir?" It was a shot in the dark, but it was the best he had.

Snape breathed in deeply, and his gaze never wavered from Harry's eyes. "There is not. They are, in fact, different names for the same plant. 10 points to Slytherin." He turned away, and Draco bumped shoulders with him, an honest grin of excitement on his face. Harry was familiar enough with the other boy to know that was unusual, and grinned back, ducking his head.

The rest of the class was blur of disgusting ingredients and tiny instructions. By the end of it, the three of them brewed a perfect boil solution. Pansy, on the other hand, was glaring at Daphne, who was gazing disinterestedly toward the front of the room, while their potion gave off plumes of green smoke. She turned and locked eyes with Harry, mouthing 'next time we work together'. A glowing swell of pride warmed Harry. That was sweet of her.

They all packed up to leave, when Snape drawled out, "Potter, if you would stay a moment." Harry nodded tightly, worried he might be in trouble. The professor had a way of saying his name that made him feel like he'd done something wrong. He waved slightly at Draco, who promised to wait outside, and walked up to the desk.

"Sir?"

For a moment, Snape simply looked at him, almost like he was seeing Harry for the first time. Then he blinked and seemed to come back to reality. "I wish to extend my pleasure that you have done so well in getting ahead in your studies. It reflects well upon our House." This expression was somewhat considering, head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "As you are among the few in my house who does not have a background conducive to this class, I would like to offer a chance to catch up with your year mates. It would be a pity if you were to bring down the collective competence of your fellow Slytherins."

Harry nodded, eyes wide. Draco had told him about what being a Potions Master meant, and the chance to work with him to catch up would help with the work immensely. "I would appreciate that, sir." He replied, straightening his back and trying to match the professor's formal tone and vocabulary.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I will see you tomorrow at 2 in my office. Take care not to be late."

Nodding again, Harry practically squeaked, "Yes, sir!" Before he scurried out to tell Draco.

Harry immediately told the other boy the entire tale as they walked up towards the Great Hall. Draco sounded a little dejected as he heard about Snape's offer to tutor Harry.

Harry muttered, "Sorry."

"What for?" Draco asked, his envy washing away slightly in his confusion.  
Shrugging, Harry gestured vaguely back the way they'd came. "Maybe if we go back now, Professor Snape will let us switch."

Draco stared at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The tutoring. I'm sure Professor Snape would rather teach someone who really knows the subject. I can learn through the book. It's not really a big deal."

Grey eyes wide, Draco tilted his head. "Don't you want to get those lessons?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, but you really like Potions, so I thought you might want it more."

For a moment, Draco looked like he was considering the idea, before he shook his head. "No, Professor Snape offered them to you. He probably wouldn't like it if we tried to switch. And anyway, he chose you for a reason. Even if the reason is you're not as good as the rest of us." Draco stuck his nose in the air, but he was grinning. Harry brightened and knocked his shoulder into the blonde, who gave an exaggerated 'Umf!' and flung himself dramatically sideways, like he'd been hit by something huge. The two entered the hall and Draco quickly switched back into Malfoy Heir Mode, ignoring Harry who rolled his eyes at the display.

During lunch the second wave of post arrived and Harry took the Prophet from Draco and unfolded the paper, skimming the headline about the break-in at Gringotts. It had happened at the beginning of the week, but the news was still rolling out. He paused and then lowered his paper. It was the date he was in Diagon Alley with his mother.

"Ah, got my letter from Mum!" Draco unfolded the letter with a flourish and read over it. "Hope you're doing well... Dad sends his regards... Care package arriving... Ah!" Draco tugged on Harry's robe until the other boy slid closer. "My mum says she hopes that you make friends in Slytherin and that you enjoy your time at Hogwarts and she'll send you something next week. She hopes we'll become great friends."

Harry beamed. "I hope I can meet her."

"Well, I'm going home for Christmas. If you're not going home, I can ask if you can come. If you wanted."

Christmas was still a far off. Harry couldn't believe Draco was planning so far ahead. What could he say? He had been going to be with his mother at Christmas. He would have to think about this. Aloud he said: "That's wonderful, Draco."

Draco opened his mouth to say something but a loud explosion from the Gryffindor table made him raise his head. A boy sat frozen in his seat, wand clutched in his hand, still limply raised. Luckily it looked like no one was hurt, but something on the table was smoking terribly and the bushy haired girl and the Weasley were waving the smoke away, coughing lightly. Draco rolled his eyes before taking a bite of his sandwich and tugged the Prophet over from Harry.

Sadie had been talking to her best friend, Tracy Davis, a girl with long blond hair who had traveled on the train with her older sister. Now she turned to Harry. "Our first flying lesson's comin' up, are you excited?"

Harry looked over at Sadie, who had asked around a mouthful of her salad. Harry pondered a moment and smiled, a little nervously. "Excited. Nervous. More excited though. Flying... it... it seems impossible."

"It's awesome! My mum got me my first broom this summer, and nothing makes you feel so free." Sadie took a bite of her avocado.

Harry leaned close to her. "I need help with something. Secret." He whispered very softly in her ear.

Her blue eyes widened, then she took his hand. "Let's go and look at my broom catalogue. It's really interesting." She led him to the Entrance Hall and then into a side room. "What's wrong, Harry."

"Listen – my adoptive mother isn't human. She's a hag. Her name is Cora Coldfire. I don't trust the other kids not to be mean about it. I'm going to see her at three. She's got a job here at Hogwarts. She's another caretaker, I think. Doing the jobs Filch doesn't want."

Sadie listened and then nodded. "I'll go with you. It's your secret. You have to decide if there is anyone else in our house you can trust. Maybe Millie… or possibly Draco. I dunno. Draco has certain prejudices, almost like the Gryffindors."

At three, Harry and Sadie found the broom cupboard. Harry knocked and the doors flew open. The bright green skin and fiery hair of his mother were instantly visible. She threw her arms around him and hugged him close, kissing him fiercely. "Oh, Harry, I'm so happy to see you again. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Sadie." The purple haired girl smiled. "I'm in Harry's house. It's good to meet you."

Cora touched her arm. "Thank you for being my son's friend. I'm Cora Coldfire."

Harry's insides squirmed in embarrassment. He appreciated his mother wanting him to have friends, but the way she worded it was awkward.

The hag grinned, her white teeth a contrast with her green face. "It's been pretty lonely, being on my own again. I've found an empty classroom that can be our bedroom."

"We have to use our house dorms. It's the rule," said Sadie politely.

Cora's green face fell. "O-Of course. I forgot." She forced a smile. "Still, I can see you whenever I have a break. I have to scrub the dungeons and the toilets. Poor Mr Filch is a squib and can't do much to get rid of the mess, or the vermin that breed in some of the damp places. That's why there's a niche job for me here. I'll have made two hundred galleons by Christmas. I've never had that much money! We can do something special this year."

Ahhh. This was awkward. Harry was invited to Malfoy Manor this Christmas. What was he going to do?


	6. Midnight Duel

Harry had been the target of Weasley's chewing with his mouth open vulgarity every time Slytherins and Gryffindors clashed. The names that Weasley called the Slytherins was always along the lines of evil, slimy git. Weasley wasn't very creative when it came to insults, but Theo had been giving him scintillating insults over the weekend, so perhaps Weasley could copy Theo and get better at it.

At least first-year Slytherins only had Potions with the Gryffindors, so they wouldn't have to put up with Weasley much. At least they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Slytherin common room that everyone got very excited about. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday. Slytherin and Gryffindor would be learning together.

"I can't wait to get out there and show Weasley what a wizard can do on a proper broom, not some thrice handed-down stick with half the twigs missing like he's got," Draco drawled, practically bouncing with anticipation. Harry, on the other hand, was feeling sick to his stomach. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in front of Weasley, Finnigan, and the rest of those Gryffindor gits. He was afraid of embarrassing Slytherin House. Professor Snape wouldn't be impressed if he did.

"Wonderful," he said dryly. "Just what I need to do, make a fool of myself on a broom in front of Gryffindor."

"You'll do fine," Draco said dismissively. "Did I tell you about the time this summer when I was flying through the wood near the Manor and almost got spotted by a Muggle in a helicopter?"

"Yes!" Millie said, highly exasperated. Draco had told the story many times. He seemed to have an endless collection of boastful stories about flying.

He certainly wasn't alone, though. Finnigan had apparently spent his boyhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. That occupied his mind the most, not that his mum obliviated his dad. Weasley insisted he'd almost hit a hang glider while riding his brother Charlie's old broom (Draco had asked him how he'd caught up to the hang glider riding an antique broom).

Millie was nearly as eager as Draco. When she'd first read the notice, she'd stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the parchment. Her jaw had dropped slightly and a glazed look had come over her eyes and face. "Broom," she had whispered reverently. "I get to fly a broom again.

Pansy had managed to keep her wits about her. She was just as eager as the rest, though. Everyone was looking forward to it except Harry.

One couldn't prepare for flying on a broom by reading a book or by practising in an unused classroom. He was almost frantic; he'd read Quidditch Through The Ages looking for hints. His friends had all assured him that he'd do fine. Easy for them to say.

Thursday morning came all too soon for Harry. He'd been very busy with schoolwork and hadn't noticed the days speeding past. He'd added a handful of new spells to his repertoire and had managed to get the matchstick to turn into a silver toothpick.

The post always came during breakfast. He received a note from his mother, wanting to see him again. She had been put out by the fact that she couldn't share a room with her son. She wished to see him that evening. Draco's mother sent up boxes of sweets twice a week, which he always shared. Sadie's mother had sent everyone a loaf of homemade bread with a crock of fresh churned butter only the previous day.

This morning, there was a bit of a hub-bub at the Gryffindor table. Harry glanced over and saw Longbottom holding a glass ball of some kind.

"Let's check it out," said Draco, always eager for a chance to irritate the Gryffindors. Harry got to his feet and strolled in that direction.

"What you got there, Longbottom?" Draco said, his Malfoy-heir drawl firmly in place. He snatched the glass ball.

"Blimey, it's a Remembrall, Harry!" Draco exclaimed. "Longbottom's gotten so absent-minded he has to have someone else remember things for him."

Weasley and Finnigan had jumped to their feet. Finnigan cracked his knuckles, clearly eager to fight. Thomas got up from his seat and stepped closer.

Draco smirked as McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, came up behind her charges. "What's going on here?" she asked, her tones clipped.

"Malfoy's got Neville's Rememberall, Professor," Weasley said quickly.

"I only wanted to get a good look at it," Draco said innocently. "That's all right, isn't it Longbottom?"

Draco made a show of carefully examining the Remembrall while the Gryffindor boys fumed. Then he handed it back to Longbottom, being quite careful. "Thanks Longbottom.

That afternoon, the Slytherin first-years hurried through the corridors to the open courtyard for their first flying lesson.

Eighteen broomsticks were laying in two neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard from that the school brooms were dreadful. Some of them vibrated, and others had a tilt to the left.

The Gryffindors arrived, shortly followed by their flying instructor. Madam Hooch had short, grey hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. Harry liked her weird eyes better than Mr Ollivander's. If he was from the magic inside her, then magical distortion of the human body probably wasn't all bad.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broom. Come on, hurry up!"

Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Hold your wand hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"Up!" everyone shouted.

Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once. He looked round, grinning. Not all the Slytherins had had his success. Crabbe's broom was hovering a few inches off the ground, while Goyle's had smacked him across the shins and then lay still.

The Gryffindors were having their troubles. Hermione's just rolled over. Longbottom's broom hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like dogs, could tell when you were afraid. There was a note in Longbottom's voice that clearly said he wished to keep his feet on the solid ground.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Much to Draco's chagrin, she told him he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground," she said. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle- three, two-"

"Hurry up, Neville. Don't be a wuss." Weasley pushed Neville off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips, making him shoot into the air like an arrow.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising – ten feet – twenty feet… Longbottom slipped sideways off the broom, and-

WHAM! There was a thud and a nasty crack. Harry grabbed his own arm in empathy and winced. Neville must have broken something. Longbottom lay face down on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch rushed over to the boy's side. Her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy, it's all right, up you get."

She turned to the rest of the class.

"You all leave those brooms alone, or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

Longbottom, clutching his wrist and with tears rolling down his chubby cheeks, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Draco guffawed.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

"Not cool," murmured Sadie.

Harry was also uncomfortable about Draco joking about this, but he said nothing.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" said Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy jeered. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look." Draco snatched something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

The Remembrall glinted in the sun as he held it up.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Weasley demanded.

Everybody stopped talking to watch.

Draco ignored Weasley, turned to Harry. "Fancy a game of Keep Away, pal?" he asked, picking up his broom. "We can give it back to Longbottom afterwards."

A harmless game of Keep Away and they would give it back afterwards? Why not? Anything to irritate Weasley.

"Yes," he said, picking up his own broom.

"Malfoy!" shouted Weasley as he lunged for the Remembrall in Draco's hand.

Draco hopped onto his broom and rose into the air, above Weasley's head. Harry instinctively jumped on his own broom and kicked off.

"Well, Weasley? Are you wizard enough to face me up here?" Draco shouted down derisively.

Weasley mounted his own broom and rose, shakily, into the sky.

Draco certainly could fly well, neatly dodging Weasley.

"Here, Harry, catch!" Draco said, tossing the glass globe behind his back and in Harry's direction.

Harry caught it, executing a barrel roll. Wow, how had he done that?! He heard gasps from below him, from Slytherins and Gryffindors alike. He could see the Patil girl holding Finnigan back from joining them in the sky. Sadie and Hermione looked anxious. As Weasley rushed at him, Harry tossed the ball back to Draco.

"Hey Weasley, you want this? Go get it!" Draco cocked his arm and whipped it forward, flinging the Remembrall as hard as he could.

Weasley stared after the hurtling object and shrugged. "I'll still get you!" he shouted, flying at Draco again. He missed as Draco dodged nimbly, and he sank back down to the ground looking both furious and defeated.

Harry gasped when Draco threw the ball. That was going too far. He hunched over his broom and zoomed along the ground, looking to intercept the ball before it shattered against the castle wall or the stone walkway. Harry wouldn't let Neville lose his valuable possession. Totally focused on the glittering globe that was falling from the sky, he zoomed right past a tall, black-robed figure.

Reaching out his hand, he wrapped his fingers around the cool glass, tucking it in close, and bringing himself around quickly. He set his course back towards the others, but sank to the ground and began shaking in fear when he saw Professor Snape standing in the open corridor with his arms crossed.

"Potter, just what do you think you are doing?"

Harry swallowed hard. "Well, sir, you see, we were playing a bit of catch with Longbottom's glass ball here, and it got thrown a little bit too hard. I went after it because I didn't want his property to be damaged. We could have lost points, sir," he added. Snape did care about that, after all.

Professor Snape's face was unreadable. "Give it here, Mister Potter. I will make sure it gets back to Longbottom. You'd best get back to the others, and stay off that broom!"

Harry nodded, shouldered his broom, and went trotting back to the rest of the students. He didn't look back and didn't see Professor Snape staring after him.

Before anyone could say anything, though, Madam Hooch returned. She picked up the lesson where she'd left off, and everyone was zooming around quite readily when class ended.

"Line your brooms up back where you found them," she directed them. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

As soon as they got away from the Gryffindors, the Slytherins clustered around Harry. Draco, Millie, Pansy, and Sadie were nearest, with Blaise, Daphne, Theo, Tracy, Crabbe, and Goyle leaning in.

"What was that?" Tracy asked, her voice trembling. "Where did you learn to fly like that?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but no words came to mind.

"Isn't it obvious?" Millie said, practically drooling. "It's in his genes! That sort of talent isn't something you can learn. We've got to talk to Professor Snape and get Harry on the house team."

"The house team?" Harry said, alarmed. "But first years aren't allowed."

Sadie laid a small, pink hand on his arm. "But you are exceptional, Harry.

"What position?" Draco asked.

"Seeker, dimwit," said Theo. "That stupid glass ball was almost like a Snitch."

"Terence Higgs is the starting Seeker!" Pansy protested.

"He was only the reserve last year," Millie said. "The starting Seeker finished school and if we can get Harry permission to try-out, he'd get it for sure!" Millie was paying no attention to where she was walking and nearly fell into a shrub. Harry helped her up.

"How will being reserve be any good?" Draco asked, bewilderment clear in his voice.

"Terence will have to defend his position since he wasn't the starting Seeker last year," Theo answered. "That's how they do try-outs."

"So if Harry beats Terence to the Snitch, he gets to be Seeker?" asked Tracy.

"We've got to talk to Professor Snape," Millie reiterated, leading the way up the path, into the Front Hall of the castle, down the marble staircase, down the stone stairways to the dungeons.

"I don't think we'll all fit," Draco said, looking at Crabbe and Goyle particularly. "Blaise? Daphne? Could I possibly inflict these two on you for an undetermined span of time?"

Blaise opened his mouth to protest, but Daphne elbowed him in the side. "It's a big responsibility, but if we're the only ones who can do it right, then we must do it. Good speed on your mission, and Merlin grant that you return with good news."

"Thanks, Daphne," Harry said gratefully.

The six Slytherins hurried on to Snape's office.

"Professor Snape?" Millie said, knocking on the door.

"Come," Snape's voice rang out.

Millie opened the door and she practically dragged Harry to Professor Snape's desk. Draco, Theo, Tracy, and Sadie crowded in.

Snape eyed them shrewdly. "How may I help you?"

"Sir, Harry just did amazing things with a broom!" Millie exclaimed.

"I'm fully aware of Mister Potter's broomstick handling," Snape replied. "Indeed, he does have my permission to try out for the house team."

Harry felt his jaw drop. Professor Snape had done a complete reversal. At first he'd have sworn that the man hated him, then it had become indifference, then respect, and now Snape was doing him a favour.

"How'd you know, sir?" Draco asked.

"I happened to be standing in a corridor adjoining the courtyard during the incident, Mister Malfoy. I will notify Flint, the team captain, and he will provide you with information about the try-outs. I hope you appreciate the fact that first-years normally are not allowed to try-out."

"Yes sir, thank you sir." Harry's head was spinning, and all he wanted to do was lay down and rest. He was grateful when Sadie took his hand in hers.

The trip back through the dungeons to the Slytherin common room was a blur to Harry. When he came to himself, he was sitting in one of the carved chairs near the fire, staring into the flames.

He looked up and saw Draco and Theo working on their Potions homework. Millie and Pansy had gone to the library. His own Potions notes and text were open in front of him.

"Yuck," he said. "I don't want to be thinking about this stuff right before dinner."

He closed his book and opened up Quidditch Through The Ages. Seekers were usually the lightest and faster fliers...

It was time to see his mother. He went up to Sadie. "I'm seeing Mum again."

She nodded and took his hand. They went upstairs to a bathroom on the second floor. Cora threw open the door. Her green face lit up at the sight of them and she flung her arms around them both. "Hello, hello, my darlings."

Cora had been scrubbing out the large bath tub. Harry and Sadie told her about Harry's place in the Quidditch team.

Cora looked anxious. "Isn't that horribly dangerous?"

"The teachers would intervene before it got really dangerous," said Sadie, "but I agree. I do get uncomfortable watching it. 'Specially the part with the bludgers. On the other hand, it is a great honour to be the only first year player in a century. Aren't you proud?"

Cora cupped Harry's face in her hands. "Don't try to be a hero dearest. Think of your safety first, and come back to me."

00O00

At dinner, Weasley stalked up to the Slytherin table. "Give me Neville's Rememberall, Potter." Weasley's voice was hard and unfriendly.

Harry swallowed his mouthful of roast beef and turned to see Weasley and Finnigan standing behind him, unfriendly scowls across their faces.

"I don't have it, Weasley. Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat dinner." Harry put another forkful of mashers into his mouth.

Weasley's face grew even more ugly. "I said give it up, Potter."

"What are you, deaf?" Draco snapped. "He told you he doesn't have it."

"Shut up, Malfoy. I wasn't talking to you."

"Well I'm talking to you, Weasley. You're outnumbered over here, so I recommend you leave."

"And if I don't?" Weasley asked belligerently.

Draco stood up. "Then I guess I'm just going to have to correct your attitude."

Weasley glared at Draco, Harry nearly forgotten. "Any time," he said invitingly.

"Tonight then, if you want. Wands only, no contact."

"Fine."

"In the trophy room; it's always unlocked. Midnight. Finnigan going to be your second?"

"You bet I will," Finnigan said, speaking for the first time. "Who's yours?"

"Potter, of course," Draco smirked.

It might have been Harry's imagination, but a flicker of uncertainty might have flashed across Weasley's face.

"Fine. Midnight then."

And then they were gone.

"What was all that about?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Draco looked chagrined for a moment. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry. You don't know. Weasley and I are going to have a wizard's duel."

"What's that?"

"It's a formal way of settling disputes. You'll be my second, which means you take over if I die." Draco noted the look of horror that crossed Harry's face. "Never fear. As if some lazy git like Weasley could kill a Malfoy!"

"But you could get hurt!" Harry protested.

"Nonsense," Draco said, waving the question away.

"You'd better make sure you can cast a Shielding Charm," Theo said, having heard everything.

"As if Weasley has anywhere near my skills," Draco scoffed.

Theo frowned. "Don't get overconfident, Draco. He might have a few surprises for you. Maybe we ought to go with you."

Draco was shaking his head. "No," he said. "How would that look? I told Weasley that it would just be me and Harry tonight. I can't go back on my word, not about something like this. There's honour involved here."

"He's right," Tracy said, leaning over to their huddled conversation. "If anyone else shows up, the terms for the duel are invalid, and you certainly don't want that to happen."

"Right," agreed Draco. "I want to hex him till his own mother won't recognize him."

Harry thought of his own mother and had the uneasy realisation that she wouldn't want him getting into a fight or hurting anyone. Not for any reason.

Draco went on. "We should taken a practice, then take a quick nap to recharge. Now I should eat more food."

He hunched over his plate and began to fork carrots into his mouth, barely pausing to chew.

Harry couldn't continue eating. The succulent slices of roast beef that he had taken grew cold.

Sadie walked over to him. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Nerves," he whispered back. "Weasley challenged Draco and I to a Wizard's Duel."

"You'll do fine," Tracy assured him. "Draco can take care of himself. All you have to do is stand around."

Sadie glared. "How can you think it's funny? You know how rough the Gryffindors are. It's stupid and dangerous, especially dragging Harry into something like this."

"In your opinion, Sadie," said Draco. "Now, practice. Who am I practising against?"

Sadie flushed pink and folded her arms.

Theo looked around at the others. "That would be me," he said, sighing.

"If you don't want to, Theo, I'll do it," Millie volunteered.

He shook his head. "No, I need the practice too."

Draco and Theo squared off, wands at the ready. Each took a duelling posture.

"Three, two, one, go!" shouted Tracy.

" Aegis vocare! " Theo cast a Shielding Charm as Draco pointed his wand and cast his own spell.

Back and forth the two cast their spells, dodging, ducking, and occasionally connecting. Draco fell victim to the Leg-Locker Curse. Theo exulted in his victory, and that led to his downfall when he was caught unawares and could not escape the Jelly-Legs Jinx.

"Bugger!" he shouted as he fell.

"I win!" Draco said, smirking triumphantly.

"Oh no you don't," Theo said, pointing his wand from the floor and casting the Tickling Charm.

Draco dropped his wand as he clutched his sides, laughing uncontrollably.

"Enough," Harry said, stepping between them. He performed the counter for the charm on Draco and helped Theo to his feet. Although his mother had a different magical gift to his, he had still be able to read the incantations for basic counter-jinxes.

"Impressive, boys," Millie said, clapping her hands. Sadie still looked unhappy.

"Thank you," gasped Draco, wheezing for breath.

"I'd say you're more than ready to take on Weasley," Tracy said admiringly. "There's no way he could know even half of those spells. He certainly won't be able to think fast enough to do the reversals."

"Let's hope so," Harry said. "How does a proper duel end?"

Tracy took his arm as they left the classroom and made their way down to the dungeons.

"It depends on how serious the dispute is," she said. "If it's really serious it can be to the death. Then the second will take over, but usually it's just till one wizard disarms the others. If a wizard loses hold of his wand, then the duel is over."

"But what then?" Harry asked.

She blinked. "Well, I suppose the loser has to apologize. There's usually specific terms laid out before the duel begins."

Harry fretted. "I don't know enough about this to be a proper second," he said, wringing his hands.

"Don't worry about it," Tracy reassured him. "Draco knows what he's doing. He won't let you make any mistakes."

When they got back to the common room, Harry and Draco immediately went to bed. They would need to be awake and full of energy. Despite Harry's worries, he fell asleep almost immediately. The next thing he knew, Theo was shaking him awake.

"C'mon, Harry, time to go defend Slytherin pride."

Harry nodded groggily and stumbled to the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face. He returned to the dorm and found Draco awake as well, double-checking that his wand was still secure.

The two boys nodded at each other, not speaking.

"Good luck," Theo grunted, finally free to seek his own bed.

They were silent as they walked the corridors and made their way up the stairs to the third floor where the trophy room was.

Weasley and Finnigan weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Draco held his wand in his left hand, tapping it nervously against his palm. The minutes crept by.

"Where is that git?" Harry asked, impatient to have it done with so he could go back to bed.

Draco checked his watch. "He's late. Maybe he's too much of a coward?"

Harry was about to respond, but a noise in the next room made him freeze. He drew his own wand.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

Filch! Mrs. Norris! They'd been betrayed! Horror-struck, Harry grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him towards the door. They had barely got out into the corridor when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

Harry gestured to Draco, leading the way down the hall. Pale as a sheet, Draco followed him down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer.

"Ah hah!" they heard him shout with glee. "They're near…"

"Oh no," Harry moaned. "Run!" He wanted his mother at this point.

The pair sprinted down the gallery, not looking back. They swung around the doorpost and dashed down one corridor then another. Harry was in front, no idea where he was or where he was going. They ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which he knew was miles away from the trophy room.

They stopped, gasping for breath. "That was close," Draco wheezed.

"Too close," agreed Harry. "How'd he know we'd be there?"

"Weasley," Draco hissed. "That git brought Filch into it. I'll fix him."

"Never mind that right now," Harry said. "We've got to get back to the dorm before we get caught."

"How?" Draco asked as they walked down the corridor. "I'm so lost, I couldn't tell you which direction down is."

"The Charms classroom is right over there," Harry said, pointing. "We just-"

Peeves popped out into the corridor, making them jump. "Ickle Firsties. Naughty naughty, you'll get caughty." he said loudly.

"Peeves, shut up!" hissed Draco. "You'll get us caught!"

"Should tell Filch I should!" Said Peeves unctuously. "It's for your own good, you know."

"We'll get the Baron after you," Harry hissed, furious and scared. "How would you like that?"

Peeves sneered at them. "Don't care. Shouldn't be making threats, Ickle Firsties. Peevsie spank!"

Draco had managed to get around Peeves and Harry dashed under the poltergeist. Together they ran for the end of the corridor.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"Oh, we're in for it now," moaned Draco as they ran for their lives. At the end of the corridor, Harry reached for the door to push it open and slammed into it, hard. The breath was knocked from his body as Draco crashed full into Harry's back.

"Open the door," Draco cried, tugging at the knob. Together they pushed and pulled. It was locked and refused to open.

"We're done for," Harry said, nearing a state of panic.

In only seconds Filch would be on them. Harry forced himself to stop panicking. Resolutely he pushed his panic to the back of his mind. Millie had been telling him about an Unlocking Charm yesterday. What were the bloody words!

"Alohomora! " he said, praying for the spell to work.

A jet of white light shot from the end of his wand into the lock. Draco quickly pulled the door open and they ducked inside, slamming the door shut behind them. They leaned up against the walls in relief.

"Bugger, that was too close." Draco was shaking. Too many panic attacks in too short a timeframe.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying, his voice barely audible through the thick door. "Quick, tell me now!"

"Say 'please,'" said Peeves.

"Don't mess me about, Peeves."

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying sing-song voice.

"All right- please!"

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" They heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks the door is locked," Harry whispered. "If we just stay here we should be f-" He broke off in mid-sentence, his eyes bugging out of his head.

Harry was quite sure he'd walked into a nightmare. On top of everything else that had happened tonight, he just couldn't take this sort of shock.

They stood not in a classroom, as Harry had supposed, but instead in the forbidden third-floor corridor. Now he knew why it was forbidden; now he knew why Dumbledore had promised a painful death.

Draco turned around and let out a slight whimper as he stared up into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that. There was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Harry groped for the doorknob. Given the choice between being caught by Filch and dying a most painful and horrifying death, he chose Filch.

They fell backwards, Harry slamming the door closed, and they ran, almost flew, back to the safety of the dungeons. Filch must have hurried off to look for them elsewhere, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared. All they wanted to do was put as much space between them and that monster as possible. They didn't stop running until they reached the blank stone wall that concealed the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Shaking, nearly crying from sheer stress, they collapsed on the floor in front of the fire.

"What in the name of the Founders is a beast like that doing here? What's that crackpot old fool, Dumbledore, thinking?" Draco demanded, his voice shaking. He sounded shaken.

"That's much too big to be a guard dog," Harry thought harder. Could it be guarding something special? Whatever else happened, he wondered how he'd tell his mother about his brush with death. She would not be pleased. She would probably want to pull him out of school. Should he tell her?


	7. Slytherin Solidarity

Harry and Draco fell into bed completely exhausted. Still shaken, they were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Harry really wanted to find Cora to comfort him, but he didn't know exactly where she was in the castle at this time. When Theo shook him awake six hours later, Harry just did not want to get up.

"None of that," Theo scolded, as Harry tried to roll over and pull the covers over his head. Harry replied with an unintelligible grunt.

Theo stepped back and took stock of the situation. He summoned Crabbe over to assist.

"Grab him," Theo ordered. "Goyle, you grab Draco. We have to get these two awake and to class on time."

Harry vaguely felt powerful hands latch onto his pyjamas. Then the warm covers were pulled away, and cold air shot down his neck. He whimpered and reached for the blankets, trying to get back to the cocoon that was his bed and pretend he was in his mother's arms. Crabbe practically dragged him down the hall and into the bathroom where Theo already had the showers running. Theo pointed to the two stalls, indicating for the two boys to put their burdens under the spray of water, and checked his watch, frowning.

Harry came awake with a gasp as water was suddenly cascading on his head. He sucked in a mouthful of it and started choking, spitting it back out into the drain. Blearily, he leaned back and looked out of the stall where Theo stood with his arms crossed, looking at his watch, and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Let's go. You two already missed breakfast. Bathe."

Harry fumbled for the soap and began to wash, only to realize that he was still wearing his pyjamas. He groaned and began unbuttoning them, chucking each sopping piece out onto the tile floor.

Ten minutes later, clean and with his hair freshly washed (although still very wild), Harry stepped out of the stall and took the towel that Theo held out for him. He went to the sink and began brushing his teeth.

"Let's go, Draco," Theo snapped, highly irritated.

"I'm conditioning," Draco's voice came back, drifting out of the stall along with the steam. "My hair is high maintenance."

"No, your head needs maintenance. You're making us late for Potions!"

"Almost done," Draco sighed. Two minutes later the shower was off, and Draco reached for his towel.

"C'mon, back to the room, hurry!"

Harry and Draco quick-stepped it back to the dorm and pulled on their uniforms and robes. Despite only having Potions today, they made sure to take their wands. Harry picked up his school bag and the Slytherin boys hurried off to their classroom.

No sooner had Harry sat down next to Tracy than Professor Snape stalked in, an unhappy scowl across his face. "Weasley!" he barked. "Have you found out what lionfish spine is for? You've had all week."

Weasley, who'd been whispering something to Finnigan, jumped and flushed slightly. "No sir."

"Two points from Gryffindor for being grossly unprepared for class," the Potions Master snapped. Snape was the only teacher to dock points in denominations of just one or two at a time – he was softer on first years. Undoubtedly, Weasley would lose a lot more points when he moved up the year groups.

The class went on without further incident as they reviewed the steps for properly brewing a Forgetfulness Potion. Harry was bleary throughout the lecture, and despite having missed breakfast, the ingredients list was enough to kill his appetite. His mother said that he had a very refined palate. That's because hags can subsist off a very rough diet compared to humans. Cora could eat weird fish and bugs raw, no trouble. Harry was tired. Sadie looked at him a little anxiously. Harry was glad that she wasn't going to tell him off for going on a Midnight Duel. Harry and Sadie managed to turn out a respectable potion, and Professor Snape praised both of them, saving a flask of it.

"Next week I want a roll of parchment from each of you detailing the-" Professor Snape broke off what he'd been going to say and stopped in his tracks. He swooped down like a striking hawk and seemed to snatch something up off the floor. He held out his hand to the Gryffindors, the Remembrall glittering in his palm.

"This belongs to you, Longbottom, does it not?"

"Y-y-yessir," Longbottom said, barely able to get the words out.

"Keep better track of your possessions and don't leave them in my classroom."

Professor Snape carelessly tossed the Rememberall in Longbottom's general direction, and Parvati Patil, his partner, barely caught it for him. Weasley's face was bright red. He was clearly furious.

Harry was stunned. Longbottom hadn't dropped the ball in the dungeons; he'd lost it in the courtyard during Flying lessons. Professor Snape knew it! Were teachers allowed to lie like that? Sadie wrinkled her freckled nose in semi-disgust. Harry's mouth must have been hanging open, because Tracy leaned over and tapped him under the chin. "Hush up," she whispered. "We'll talk about it later."

Snape assigned their homework and then left the classroom, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving the first-year students still in the midst of cleaning up. Most of the Gryffindors finished up quickly. The Slytherin girls hurried off, and Blaise didn't wait for the others.

"I'll see you all later. I want to go send an owl home to mother."

Harry, Draco, and Theo were filing out of the room when Harry felt a shove from behind that propelled him into the wall.

"Hey!" he said, turning around. There stood Weasley and Finnigan. They looked like they were itching for a fight.

"Longbottom didn't lose his Remembrall in this dungeon, Potter," Weasley spat. "You said yesterday that you didn't have it, you liar."

"And he was telling the truth, Weasley," Draco drawled, reaching casually for his wand.

Harry's fatigue had evaporated. "You didn't believe me anyway, Weasley," he said, his pulse increasing. He could feel the adrenaline rush come on him as his body prepared itself for fight or flight.

"Why should I believe a lying, sneaking Slytherin?" Weasley sneered at him.

Harry felt his own temper start to rise. To hear Weasley of all people calling him a liar was infuriating.

"Shut up, Weasley," Theo snapped. "They kept their word last night. You did not. You lied and betrayed them."

"Quite right," Draco continued. "You could have found out just how honourable Slytherins are if you hadn't chickened out of the duel. You obviously don't know the first thing about wizardly honour. Tell me the truth: Did you go tattling to Filch right after dinner?"

Weasley went red again and went for his wand, but found one in his face before he could get his hand halfway there. Weasley froze. Harry had him dead centre. Theo kept a close guard on Finnigan, who was looking very nervous.

Draco leaned in close. "Now let's get one thing clear, Weasley: you are inferior. You're almost as inferior as the Muggles your family loves so much. I don't know why you're here and not in some public school. Do you know that Muggles can go to school for free, Weasley? Books belong to the school and are loaned out to the students. Wouldn't that be nice, Weasley? Your parents could have sent all, what, twenty of you? Could have sent all of their grubby little spawn to Muggle school.

"I know you were afraid to duel me last night. That's why you blabbed to Filch. Well we don't like sneaks, do we lads?"

"No," Harry and Theo said firmly.

"We'll fight you now," said Weasley, "but we'll have help."

He snapped his fingers and the Weasley twins appeared. Harry was nervous. Those two were more chaotic than he liked. "Get ready to be hexed," said one of the twins. "Into oblivion," added the other. Normally finishing each other's sentences would be amusing, but the Weasley twins were faintly sinister, even at this point, before they really turned dark and marketed love potions. Suddenly, the twins whirled round. Professor Snape was standing in the corridor, arms crossed, and looking very imposing.

"S-sir," stammered one twin.

Snape said nothing, keeping the pressure on. They continued to sweat.

"Potter, Malfoy, Nott, go!" Snape finally said, " I'll deal with these four."

He herded the Gryffindors into the classroom.

The Slytherins looked at each other. With one mind, they dashed back to the common room and began to laugh.

"I-I-I," Harry said, trying to control himself. "I thought we were dead for sure."

"What happened?" said Sadie, her eyes wide and anxious.

"Weasley tried to start trouble," Draco began, "and failed utterly at it. He tried to get the chaotic twins on our case." He couldn't keep talking for his laughter.

Theo picked up the tale. "Professor Snape showed up just in time. He must have guessed what Weasley was planning."

Sadie gave a sigh of relief.

Theo laughed so hard he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, kicking his feet weakly. Tracy began laughing at him.

"You know he despises Gryffindors as an axiom," said Tracie.

"Say that again," Draco wheezed. "In plain English this time."

Between their relief at knowing that Professor Snape was truly looking out for them and Tracy's continued usage of grown-up words, even in the current situation, the Slytherins couldn't control themselves. It was a clear incident of mass hysteria.

When they had all recovered from their manic laughter, they put their books away and hurried up to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry remembered that he had some interesting news to share, but it was not the sort of thing that should be discussed in the open. He was impatient throughout lunch, quickly eating his fill and then waiting for everyone else to finish.

Back in the common room, he cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him.

"There's something extremely valuable being kept here in Hogwarts," he began. "And there's a three-headed dog guarding it."

"We hid in the forbidden third-floor corridor last night while running from Filch," Draco contributed. "Huge monstrous beast, it was, straight out of Greek myth. We got away by the skin of our teeth."

Sadie opened her mouth in horror and turned pale, but the other Slytherins crowded around Harry and Draco congratulating them.

"That's resourceful of you, heir of Malfoy," said Theo.

"What were you thinking, going in there?" Sadie stormed. "You're not to do anything so stupid or dangerous…" there were tears in her eyes. "What if… what if…"

"Give it a rest, Sadie," said Tracy, elbowing her in the ribs and making Sadie glare at her.

We've got something extremely valuable here." Harry was pleased that he'd made such a brilliant argument.

"Or it could be dangerous," Draco pointed out. "One never knows about these things."

"It could be anything," Theo said, stifling a yawn. "I imagine there's any number of magic rings in the world."

"But how can a simple magic ring justify a great, slobbering, giant dog?" Draco pressed.

"I don't know," Theo admitted, "but I do know that we could speculate for weeks and still not find the answer."

"We need more clues," Harry decided.

"And just how are you going to get them?" Pansy asked derisively. "They're not going to just go telling students what it's all about, especially not first year students like us."

"We'll go hunting around," Harry said. "Aside from being scared half to death, that three-headed dog was quite an adventure."

Sadie glared right at Harry. "How can you call it an adventure?"

"Adventure," Daphne said, sniffing. "Nearly getting killed doesn't qualify as fun in my book. I'm no stupid Gryffindor."

"It was rather over the top," Draco admitted. "I could do with a little less deadly of an adventure next time."

Any further discussion was cut off as Marcus Flint, a sixth year student and captain of the house Quidditch team, came up and sat down. Marcus was not a handsome boy, and that was being polite. He looked as though his biological mum had dallied with a troll. He had a high, sloping forehead, beady little eyes, and crooked teeth.

"Sorry to burst in," he said cheerfully, "but Professor Snape's just told me about little Potter's little broom adventure. So, you want to try out for the team, do you boy?"

"Yes," Harry said, dreams of Quidditch glory filling his mind.

"Well you look to have the right build for a Seeker," Flint said, still cheerful. "We're doing trials next weekend, so get yourself a top-notch broom. You certainly can't do it with a school twig."

"I will," Harry promised.

"Good! Carry on," Flint said, getting to his feet and ambling off.

"Congratulations, Harry!" Millie said, shaking his hand enthusiastically. Harry beamed at her. When she was happy, she did look more hag-like. If only she wore green face paint. She beamed back at him.

"You're going to get on the team," Pansy said. "And we're going to destroy the other houses. Anyway, flying lesson now."

After lessons (it had felt good to be in the air again), Harry went up to the Owlery with Draco. He had to get his order off to the Nimbus Racing Broom Company so that he could have the broom for the trials next week.

When he got into the hall, though, Tracy and Sadie stood waiting for him. Sadie still looked a bit agitated.

"You shouldn't go wandering by yourself, you know," Tracy told him.

"Why's that?" Harry said, falling into step with the both.

"Alone, you make an easy target."

That statement was rather profound, and they walked in silence.

Sadie turned her face to him. She still looked pale and was breathing through her nose. "When someone wants to go off and be by himself, it usually means there's something wrong."

There was certainly truth to that.

"Friends are good for talking to about stuff like that. We listen, we care, we want to help. So if you want to talk, Harry, I'm here to listen and help if I can."

Harry didn't answer immediately. The words he wanted to say were tricky. He couldn't think of exactly the right phrasing.

"I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by everything," he said finally. "I've been doing so well with magic, thanks to my friends helping me," he added, "and that takes some getting used to. Yesterday I found out that I've got a gift for flying, and now I get to try out for the house team, which other people don't get to do. Everybody knows my name, but I'm being judged for simple things like the house I'm in. Everything is strange, but you're all so wonderful. Now I'm afraid that if I can't make it at Hogwarts, I'll lose you all. Like you were just a glorious dream." He hadn't told his mother about his dangerous adventure the previous night. Would she want him to stay at Hogwarts after that?

They stopped walking and Sadie gave him a penetrating look. Then she hugged him. So warm… almost like his mother's hugs.

Hesitantly, he hugged the purple haired girl back. He tried not to squeeze too hard; he didn't want to hurt her. She obviously wasn't as strong as Cora. She kept her arms locked tight around him, holding on as if for dear life. Finally, she released him.

"Was that dreamy?" she grinned and touched the tip of his nose.

He grinned. "Better. Thank you."

"Welcome. Anytime you want a hug, you just let me know."

Harry kept smiling. "I will. Listen, I'm afraid that if Draco knew something about me, he'd be prejudiced." He winked at Sadie. Tracy knew nothing about Cora.

"You think Draco is prejudiced because he hates muggles?" said Tracy.

Harry nodded. "And Muggle-borns and the Muggle-lovers too."

Sadie grimaced. "Well I'm thinking you are right."

Tracy shook her head. "I know it must seem that he speaks without thinking, that he hates without understanding why, but that's just not the way it is. Muggle-born wizards almost caused our entire culture to be destroyed hundreds of years ago. There was a war going on, and these Muggle-borns got involved because they had kin who were fighting. They started using magic, Muggles saw them, and the panic was nearly the end of us all. Memory Charms hadn't been invented yet, so there was nothing for it. Those wizards were assassinated, and eventually enough people were killed in battle that those who survived were considered insane. It was a very scary time, so the stories say. Muggle-borns cannot be trusted."

"Surely they've evolved since then," Harry protested.

"Yes, this is Medieval times you're talking about," said Sadie.

Tracy smiled sadly. "Ever pick up and read a Muggle newspaper, Harry? It's full of murder, rape, and other atrocities. On any given day, a Muggle newspaper is a testament of man's inhumanity to man."

"You know my mother was Muggle-born," Harry said, a little desperate for some ground to stand on.

"Yes. Try to think of that," said Sadie.

Tracy shrugged. "I'm not saying that all of them are bad, but almost every one is more or less just like Granger. Harry, answer me this question: How does Granger act? Be honest, now."

Harry saw Granger firsthand. He thought hard, sifting through his memories. "She's such a know-it-all," he sighed, realizing that he was losing this debate.

Tracy nodded. "She's also bossy and uncouth."

Sadie wrinkled her freckled nose. She had a funny way of doing that when she was uncomfortable. "Well… She probably doesn't know better."

Tracy scoffed. "She doesn't understand that there's more to magic than just saying funny words. All that she will ever know is magic by rote, by memorization, by the book. She'll never understand that magic is an Art. A pure-blooded witch, one who understands her magic, can take her wand, wave it around, and make whatever she can envision come to pass."

They had slowed to a halt during this conversation, and now they began to walk again. Sadie took his hand. "It's good that you're not just agreeing with what the people around you believe and you can still be Draco's best friend. I think it's really sweet that you're ready to believe the best about people despite everything."

Tracy shook her head. "But before too much longer that innocence will fade. I wish it could be different, but sooner or later you'll see that we're right. And until it happens, you need to know that we're not going to stop being your friends. Just because you don't agree one hundred per cent with my opinion doesn't mean I don't like you. Draco should see the sense of that. I disagree with Sadie on a lot of things, but I still love her. Theo and Pansy fight constantly, but they'll stand together against anyone. All of us will, no matter what. We've all been good friends since we were old enough to understand what the word meant. "

"Yes. Well put," said Sadie with a grin.

Tracy laughed lightly. "Of course it's well put! There are others we know who were part of the girls' etiquette lessons, like Mandy Brocklehurst and the Patil twins. We played quite a lot with Terry Boot but weren't as close to him. Mandy and Padma absolutely belong in Ravenclaw, but it was just the whim of the Hat that put Parvati in Gryffindor, which I would never have expected. Probably because it's Gryffindor's Hat, it has a slight bias. Terry? It was probably family destiny that put him in Ravenclaw. All of his family have been Ravenclaws, all the way back to the Founders."

Sadie's hand was in Harry's as they walked. It felt good. She had been nodding as Tracy spoke this time, since unlike before, she agreed with her. She started talking as soon as Tracy finished. "Crabbe and Goyle didn't share our upbringing, so Draco's the only one who was really good friends with them before Hogwarts. It's wonderful that he's loyal to them, even though the poor things aren't all that gifted. Not every boy would be so kind to them. It was good fortune that put Daphne and Blaise with us, and double good fortune that we met you as well. You're one of us now, just as surely as if you'd known us these ten years."

"It feels good to belong," Harry smiled as he opened the door out onto the battlements, holding it open for the girls. They smiled back at him and stepped outside.

The view from the battlements was breath-taking. The sun hung over the horizon, almost ready to begin setting. The sky was filled with fiery oranges, reds, and purples. A few bright stars could be seen twinkling in the dusk. A flowing breeze lifted their robes and sent the fabric flapping around.

"So are you feeling better?" Tracy asked him.

Harry nodded. "Yes, very much. I've been so scared to speak up because I thought you wouldn't want to be friends with me if I disagreed with you so severely."

Sadie shook her head. "Friendship isn't that fragile, Harry. True friendships can last a lifetime and can survive anything."

He mused on that as the three of them watched the sunset together.

When at last there was no light left in the sky, they went back inside the castle and made for the Great Hall.

00O00

Weasley and Finnigan were conspicuous by their absence at dinner. It wasn't until Terry Boot had come over to the Slytherin table to join them for afters that they knew why. Terry told them that Mandy Brocklehurst had heard from Padma Patil who had heard from her twin sister Parvati who had said that Weasley and Finnigan were in detention.

Draco had been laughing since he'd first heard the word detention. As word spread down the table, laughter ranging from chuckles to muffled shrieks to gut-laughs erupted. A few heads turned to look over at their table, obviously wondering if the Slytherins were all insane. By contrast, the Gryffindor table was somewhat subdued; smouldering anger at just about everything was almost palpable.

Harry sat silently, not really certain how he felt about this latest development. He looked over at Tracy, who was giggling. All of his friends were laughing.

Weasley had started things off by going out of his way to insult Slytherins, a little voice in the back of his mind told him. He'd never even spoken to Harry before he'd begun his bashing. Just that Harry was in Slytherin was enough for Weasley to dislike him. It was clear that the Slytherins other than Sadie didn't like Muggle-borns and Muggle-lovers, but they didn't try to say that Muggles were evil, just cruel and stupid. Tracy had given some very logical, very well-reasoned arguments, whereas all Weasley could do was insult them. When it came down to it, who was the more prejudiced? Weasley or Tracy

Weasley had called him a liar, the little voice continued. He had no proof, but had called Harry a liar anyway and was completely unwilling to listen to the truth. That hurt a lot.

So Harry laughed, allowed himself to find amusement in the misfortunes of someone who had made himself into Harry's enemy. Tracy raised an eyebrow in his direction, but then smiled and continued giggling.

All of the Slytherins were in a good mood as the Great Hall cleared of students. Harry saw Niles, a Slytherin prefect, speaking with Percy Weasley, one of Gryffindor's prefects. Though Harry couldn't hear what was being said, Niles was clearly taking a jab at Percy through his younger brother's actions. Percy grew stony-faced and snapped something back before sweeping past Niles in a pompous manner.

It was Friday night, with no classes for the morning, so Harry stayed up late with his friends. They played Exploding Snap in the common room, talked about Quidditch, and avoided all discussion of magic or classes. Theo told several funny jokes. Tracy passed out home-baked cookies sent up by her Mum. It felt good to just relax and enjoy the company of his friends.

When they finally did seek their beds, Harry was yawning every two seconds and could barely see his way. Draco had hold of one arm, Theo the other, and the three were staggering to the dorm.


	8. Making the Team

Harry awoke late that night. A soft little hand touched his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Sadie's pale face near his. Her purple hair spilled onto his shoulders and her warm breath was tickling. "Sorry, dear. But it's your mother. It's important she see you."

Harry sat up blearily. Sadie took hold of his hand. She was in a weird, purple nightdress made of silk that left her skinny arms bare. She picked up a glass of something that looked like a purple milkshake from the bedside table. "I thought you might like something to drink."

"Why thanks Sadie." It tasted a bit like a blackcurrant milkshake.

Sadie led him to the Jacuzzi room across the bottom of the inverted tower. Cora was scrubbing out the Jacuzzi tub bottom. She grinned and dropped her rag, rushing over to Harry and taking him up in her arms, kissing him on the cheek. Sadie beamed.

"So good to see you again," she said. "And we can be private. I understand not all your housemates are as sweet as Sadie. Not all of them would accept me. Was there something you wanted to tell me? Are you happy, and more importantly, are you safe at school?"

That was oddly specific. Sadie was looking at them, her expression hard to read.

But Harry didn't have the nerve to tell his mother about his dangerous adventure with the three headed dog.

"Perfectly safe, mum," he assured her.

Sadie stared, her face blank.

00O00

The next morning at breakfast, Harry was surly and out-of-sorts. He knew he was in a bad mood, so he did his best to stay out of any and all conversations. He had lied to his mother. Only Sadie knew the problem. At breakfast she saw he was subdued. She sighed and placed a hand on his arm. The other Slytherin boys were determined to drag out whatever was bothering him by main force. When he would have sequestered himself away in the library and poured over his classwork, Draco and Theo took him firmly in hand and led him out into the morning sunshine of the courtyard.

"Something's wrong," Draco said bluntly. "Care to tell your friends what's got you in such a foul mood today?"

"It's nothing important," Harry said.

"Nonsense," Theo replied. "You said almost nothing at breakfast and didn't eat hardly a thing. Something's put you in a bad mood, and it's our duty as your friends to cheer you up."

"Or help fix the problem," Draco interjected.

Sadie ran up to them. "Guys, guys…"

"Not now, Sadie. We're trying to snap Harry out of it."

Sadie wrinkled her freckled nose at him.

"I just didn't sleep well, that's all." Harry's voice was tired. Couldn't they see that he wanted to be by himself?

"Well I have something to pick your mood up anyway," Theo said, handing Harry a paper-wrapped box.

"What is it?" Harry asked, taking the package.

"Open it and see." Theo smirked.

Harry tore the paper off and opened the box. Inside was a stack of chocolate frog cards!

Sadie clapped her hands together.

"They're all those duplicates I said I hadn't got rid of yet," said Theo. "Now you've got a great start on your own collection."

It was such a generous gift that Harry was forced to smile. "Thanks Theo. You didn't have to."

"Nonsense," came the reply. "What am I going to do with near to a hundred duplicate Chocolate Frog cards?"

Harry felt his mood lift a little.

"Thanks for trying, guys, but I'd like to spend some time by myself." But on second thoughts, he didn't want to spend it by himself. "C'mon, Sadie."

The two of them went and lay back on the courtyard and stared up at the clouds in the sky. Sadie produced a jar of cream from her pocket. "Sunscreen." It was green. She smeared it on both their faces. "I'm thinking this looks pretty…"

"Uh huh…"

Nobody tried to pick a fight with them, which was wonderful. A couple of times their fellow Slytherins came by to check that they were okay.

The sunshine felt good on his face, and Harry wallowed in the warmth. It let him forget that autumn was coming soon, and they would all be trapped in the castle.

Clouds trailed across the blue sky, occasionally taking strange shapes.

"That one looks like Draco," said Harry.

Sadie smiled, the sunlight shining off her green nose and cheeks. "Well that one looks like Millie."

"Could be a trick of the light, but that one looks like Professor Snape. "No the wind's changing… The cloudy Snape's kissing a cloudy McGonagall!"

Sadie giggled, her mask of green goop crinkling as she scrunched up her eyes. "You're funny."

Harry took her hand in his, feeling comfort in her presence. Without realizing it, he fell asleep.

The clanging of the bell woke him with a start, and from the way the sun had jumped in the sky, he realized it was noon and time for lunch. He got to his feet, brushing off grass and dirt from his robes. "Why'd you let me go to sleep, Sadie?"

She shrugged. Her green mask was still intact. "You looked so peaceful."

In the Great Hall, students were just sitting down. They joined Draco, Theo, and the others, everyone giving him a greeting of some kind.

"Hello," he said, in a decidedly better mood.

"You look a little green," Tracy noted. "Both of you."

Harry reached up and put his hand on his cheek. True enough, some of Sadie's sunscreen came off on his fingers. "Sadie and I decided to put green goo on our faces and rest in the courtyard after breakfast," he admitted sheepishly.

That admission drew amused chuckles and head shakes.

Tracy giggled, "You're so silly."

Sadie wrinkled her shiny green nose, her mask crinkling, and stuck out her pink tongue. "Do I look silly to you?"

More giggling followed. Then everyone's attention was drawn to a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as curious as everyone else, but his curiosity turned to amazement when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when a seventh owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

Harry immediately ripped open the letter.

Nimbus Racing Broom Company

Mr. H. Potter

Hogwarts School

Dear Mr. Potter:

"Here is your new Nimbus 2000, fresh off the product line! Thank you for choosing Nimbus!"

"What service!" said Harry.

Sadie grinned, her white teeth a weird contrast with her green face. She was a small girl, so her big adult teeth looked a bit weird when she grinned.

"The fast service must be because it was for Harry Potter," Draco said, his lip curling. "Let's get back to the dorm and check it out!"

"But I'm hungry!" Harry said truthfully. He was half-starved.

"Mm… we haven't had any snacks," said Sadie.

Draco made an unhappy noise and began to cram a sandwich into his mouth. Harry ignored the curious stares directed at the Slytherin table and calmly began eating. Sadie never ate that much anyway, and just had a bowl of yoghurt and honey.

When Harry had eaten more than was probably good for him, he picked up his new broom and headed for the dungeons, escorted by all his friends. Halfway across the entrance hall they found the stairs blocked by Weasley and the terrible twins.

"What've you got there, then?" Weasley asked, grabbing the package out of Harry's hands.

Sadie sniffed and folded her thin arms. The sunlight streaming in through the window shone off her green nose.

"None of your business, Weasley!" Theo spat, outraged at Weasley's rudeness and presumption. He drew his wand. "Give it back, or I'll hex you."

"That is a broomstick," Weasley said, ignoring Theo and throwing it back at Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "I thought as much. You'll be in for it now, Potter; first years aren't allowed them."

"Listen, Weasley," Harry began, his voice chilly, "nobody asked for your opinion. Now why don't you get out of our way?"

"My brothers know more magic than you lot all put together," the younger Weasley boasted. Both of the twins nodded emphatically. Harry noticed that they were each keeping one hand out of sight.

Before Harry could retort, Professor Flitwick appeared on the scene. Short and squat, he only came up to Harry's chest, but he was still an authority figure.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Weasley quickly. "And he's dressed like a lunatic. Seriously? A green face…"

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor Snape told me about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is your broom, then?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the identical looks of horror and jealousy on the faces of all three Weasleys.

"Very good," the diminutive Professor Flitwick said cheerfully. "Well, do carry on."

Then he was gone.

"Telling tales again, eh Weasley?" Draco said in the drawling tone he always used around Gryffindors.

"Apparently he didn't learn his lesson properly," Pansy said nastily.

"I think he needs a reminder," Theo chimed in.

"Please… don't fight," urged Sadie, wringing her hands.

"But later," Harry said, listening to both Theo and Sadie this time. "After he's had time to think about things and realize what a big mistake he's made. Then if he wants to apologise, we can forget about the whole thing."

Sadie beamed and nodded, her purple hair rippled and bounced.

Faces burning, Weasley and his brothers moved out of the stairway. Ignoring the glares directed at them, the Slytherins made their way down the stairs and into the safety of the dungeons. Once they were beyond hearing range, they let their laughter loose.

"His face!" Theo gasped, wheezing.

"I thought he was going to die right there," Millie howled.

"And the twins!" Tracy was about to pass out.

Sadie was giggling, really shrill. Probably in part due to her relief that there was no hexing.

They all did finally make it to the common room, their laughter echoing off the stone walls the whole way. Everyone followed as Harry went to the boys' dorm. He undid the wrappings on his broom and it rolled out onto his bedspread.

"Wow!" they all exclaimed.

Harry had learned everything he knew about broomsticks from Draco. He thought this broom, the best in the world, to be a marvel. It was sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, a long tail of neat, straight twigs, and the Nimbus 2000 logo etched in gold near the top.

Marcus Flint knocked at the door.

"Afternoon, all. 'Lo Potter, I see your broom's arrived. Nimbus Two Thousand, what an excellent choice. Trials are to be next weekend, after luncheon, down on the Quidditch pitch."

Only a week away! "Thanks, Marcus," Harry said, excited.

"Cheerio!" Then he was gone.

"You're so lucky, Harry," Millie said, envy clear in her voice. "I'd give almost anything to have a chance to get on the team this year."

"I'm the one who looks green with envy," Sadie giggled.

"Alright, Sadie. That jokes run its course," said Tracy.

"I just want to fly some more," Harry replied.

Millie's face lit up as she got an idea. "What say the rest of us borrow some brooms and we can have a pick-up game?"

Ten minutes later they were standing in the broom shed. Racks filled with brooms lined the walls of the single room, a mere three metres square. Dust covered most of them, except for the twenty or so which had been used by the Flying class.

"Ugh, a Cleansweep Two," Millie grimaced. "Those came out decades ago."

"Jackpot!" Tracy rejoiced. "Cinderblasts!"

"Pretty slow," Pansy criticized.

"But they're solid," Tracy countered. "Even after all this time, they ought to be in good condition. I think they're the best we can hope for."

"No Nimbuses?" Draco asked, a note of despair in his voice. "Not even a One Thousand?"

"I think we're stuck with the Cinderblasts," Daphne said, picking one up. "Whoever else is going to play Seeker should take the Comet, though."

Draco sighed and picked up the Comet. "This is going to be even slower than my Two-Sixty at home."

The Quidditch pitch was a breath-taking sight. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that spectators were high enough off the ground to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks that Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were forty feet high.

"Seekers pick your teams," Tracy declared.

"Crabbe and Goyle need to be split up!" Daphne interrupted.

In the end it was Harry, Crabbe, Tracy, Blaise, and Pansy versus Draco, Goyle, Millie, Daphne, Theo and Sadie."

"How do we make positions?" Tracy asked.

"Seeker, Keeper, two Chasers, Beater?" Millie suggested.

"No! You know I hate the part with the Bludgers," said Sadie. "No Beater."

Millie tutted and shook her head. "You'll never make a sportswoman."

"Seeker, Keeper, and three Chasers on one side, then…" said Theo. "Sadie's rubbish, so she can play as an extra Chaser and not help her team too much."

Sadie giggled. "Thanks so much,"

There was a general consensus, so the teams split up. Harry would be the Seeker, Crabbe would be the Keeper, while Tracy, Blaise, and Pansy played Chaser. On the other team, Draco had claimed Seeker, and he appointed Goyle and the girls got to be the Chasers, while Theo got to be Keeper.

Daphne opened the box of Quidditch balls that Goyle and Crabbe had carried down from the common room. She reached in and took the Quaffle. "Everyone mount."

They all kicked off into the air. Daphne released the Golden Snitch. It buzzed by Harry's head and vanished. Daphne threw the Quaffle into the air.

Millie immediately grabbed the Quaffle and threw it to Goyle as she dodged around Pansy. Tracy was waiting for it though, and snatched it out of Goyle's hands. She took off down the pitch towards Theo's goalposts.

Harry watched the action with interest. He'd never seen Quidditch before, and he was fascinated. His friends were moving along at pretty good speeds, despite using old brooms. The back and forth action of the Quaffle was dizzying, and hardly anyone held onto it for more than five seconds.

"Good thing we're not using Bludgers, eh Harry? Sitting there like that, you'd make a prime target."

Draco was laughing as he looped above and around Harry.

"Don't get funny, Draco," Harry warned. "I'm riding the best broom in the world, and I'll eat you and your Comet One-Eighty for dinner."

Draco stuck out his tongue. "Your broom might be the best, Potter, but you'll never match my skills!"

And Draco lunged at him suddenly. Harry gasped in surprise and ducked to his left, performing a barrel roll. He looked over his shoulder as Draco went dashing by and saw his hand outstretched, reaching for the Golden Snitch!

Harry leaned left and spun around in midair, then leaned forward and went hurtling after him. In a few seconds, even Draco's head start was negated as the Nimbus far outstripped the old Comet. Harry drew even with Draco.

"This thing is fast!" Harry called over.

Draco glared over at Harry's broom. "I'm as green as you and Sadie… with envy. I absolutely must get Father to file a protest for me. This broom stinks! I will have a Nimbus for Christmas," he declared.

"Sorry, Malfoy," Harry called back, smirking, "but even if you do, I'll still leave you sucking cloud!"

With that friendly taunt, Harry leaned forward and took off after the Snitch. He was very close to it, so close he could almost touch the small ball. It was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings. The Snitch was fluttering along frantically right in front of him, twitching, bobbing, and jumping around like a hummingbird.

"Damn it," he heard Draco cursing as the superior speed of the Nimbus widened the gap between them.

"Look out!" Tracy shouted, dodging out of his way. Harry hadn't noticed; he was intent on the Snitch.

Millie had just scored on Crabbe, earning her team ten points. The game ground to a halt as they all gawked at Harry in hot pursuit of the Snitch.

Up, down, left, right, in, out, over, under, around, and through the Quidditch pitch, the stands, and all the sky therein Harry chased after the Snitch. He frowned, twisting himself as he struggled to keep on the course of the zooming ball.

Without warning the Snitch cut a sharp right turn and took off on a completely different vector. Harry's hand flashed out to his side as he kept his course. There was a frantic wiggling in his hand, and there rested the Snitch.

"I've got it!" he shouted, holding it above his head and circling around. Everyone began to gather at the crate in the centre of the pitch.

"Beautiful catch!" Sadie congratulated him with a hug, her slimy green cheek squelching against his.

"Way to go!" Crabbe shouted, clapping Harry on the back with a big hand and sending him reeling.

"Nice job, Harry!" Pansy cheered.

"Stupid bloody Comet," Draco complained, shaking the broomstick.

"Heck of a catch," Goyle said to him, sending him reeling back the other way.

Theo caught him and kept him from crashing to the ground. "Not bad at all, Harry."

Millie was bouncing up and down. "That's a fast hundred-fifty points. A grand total of ten minutes!"

Daphne took the Snitch from him. "Excellently played, Harry. Everyone up for another game?"

"Mix up the teams," Theo suggested.

They took off into the sky again, and Daphne released the Snitch. She tossed the Quaffle into the air, and the game was afoot!

Harry beat Draco to the Snitch every time. It really hadn't been much of a challenge; the Nimbus left the old Comet in the dust. Draco had grumbled about it at first, but his mood brightened when Millie pointed out that Harry's speed was going to be an asset to the house team.

Thoroughly exhausted, they trudged back up to the castle. They'd missed tea time and were barely going to make it for dinner. Returning the brooms to the broom shed first, they carried the crate of balls back to the common room. Harry deposited his Nimbus on his bed, then he grabbed his bath things and headed for the showers.

As always, the perfect water temperature was blissful. He let the water cascade over him, washing away the green goop from his face and the sweat from the match. His sore muscles had declared war against him, but the heat and pounding rhythm of the water quickly soothed them.

He dried and dressed himself, then looked long and hard at his bed. It was tempting him to lay down and have a snooze. Telling himself that he needed to eat dinner, Harry promised himself that he wouldn't stay up late tonight.

The first year Slytherins walked through the dungeons and up the stairs to the Great Hall. They chattered animatedly about the upcoming Quidditch match, positive, now, that Harry was sure to win a place on the team.

Harry yawned all through dinner. Quidditch had given him quite a workout. He was tired, but he forced himself to keep his eyes and ears open. He listened for names of people who were also going to be trying out for the team, listening to the gossip about who had the best chances.

After dinner, Harry wanted nothing more than to seek his bed. He was too tired to be interested in more exploring of the castle with Draco and Theo, and the last thing he wanted to do on a Saturday night was read his school books.

He lay in his bed, alone in the darkness except for Goyle's snores which were audible even through two layers of thick velvet curtains. Though his body was tired, his mind was awake, and Harry's thoughts kept jumping all over the place. They were random thoughts, nighttime thoughts, but gradually they faded into blackness as sleep claimed him.


	9. Quidditch Trials

The next week flew by. Harry was keeping his nose in his books and out of trouble, mostly because Sadie begged him to and Theo agreed with her. Between his own interest in Potions and Theo's near-encyclopaedic knowledge of herbs and fungi, he did quite well for himself in Herbology.

Mille and Sadie helped with his efforts to transfigure a wooden matchstick into a silver needle.

"That's loads better!" said Sadie grinning. Harry grinned back at her. She was wearing that weird green sunblock again for some reason, and he felt soft and warm towards green members of the opposite gender.

"You still haven't formed the eye of the needle, but you can do it soon enough," said Millie. Now Millie was beautiful to Harry because she was haglike in terms of her facial features, but she wasn't green…

Harry slept in History of Magic, joining most of his classmates. Only Theo, the most studious of all the Slytherin first years, could resist the soporific power of Binns' voice.

Charms was still interesting, even if it was still mostly theory.

"Watch this class!" Said Professor Flitwick. He pointed his wand at Tracy's kitten, Argent, and sent him zooming around the classroom. Tracy and Sadie both leapt to their feet, Tracy uttering a vehement exclamation.

"Please stop, Professor!" said Sadie, her face white and her freckles really showing.

Flitwick nodded and lifted his wand. The kitten floated back down onto the desk.

Astronomy took place on top of the tallest tower. It was mostly just basic facts about the planets and constellations, but there was something interesting, too. Apparently there was another planet in the inner solar system the muggles hadn't discovered yet. It orbited at a weird angle to the ecliptic plane and there was a dust cloud of raw magic in its L1 Lagrange point that obscured it from non magical telescopes. Magical people named it Hecate, after a notorious witch.

"We have Manitee hyde from Hecate," whispered Sadie to Harry in Astronomy one night, her warm breath tickling his ear. "I have some to use in my experiments."

Sadie liked to try and invent stuff. Like her green sunscreen.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was a complete joke. Quirrell just had them reading out the text book. What a waste of time.

Their Friday Potions lesson was without notable incident, which surprised Harry immensely. Still smarting from their detention with Professor Snape, Weasley and Finnigan were well-behaved. Finnigan seemed to still be irritated with Weasley; he worked with Dean Thomas, leaving Weasley to work with Neville Longbottom.

After lecture, the Slytherins made sure to be the first out into the hall. Professor Snape had shut himself in his office, so they knew they would be undisturbed. Each of the Gryffindors eyed Harry and his friends as they left the classroom, suspecting that they were up to something, which, to be fair, they were.

Finally Weasley, who was the last to leave, stepped out into the hall. When he spotted Draco and the rest, he froze in place.

"Now then, Weasley, you've had a whole week to think about what you've done wrong. Is there anything you'd like to say for yourself?" Draco asked, drawling his words as though he hadn't a care in the world.

Sadie's blue eyes flickered anxiously from Draco to Weasley. The other Slytherins waited in grim silence.

Weasley swallowed hard. He was in a right fix, and he knew it. They had carefully timed this encounter, knowing that without his friends to back him up, the Gryffindor would let his true cowardice shine through.

"You're right, Malfoy," Weasley began slowly, and those simple words appeared to pain him. "I have given it some thought, and I was wrong to snitch."

Draco looked around at the others. Harry took a long look at Weasley, who was sweating, and nodded at Draco. "Well, well, will wonders never cease?" Draco drawled in a facetious tone. "Weasley can be reasonable. Now let's see if he knows how to apologize."

"Just apologise and end this," urged Sadie.

Weasley swallowed again. He really had no choice at all. "I'm sorry for telling on you, Malfoy."

"There now, Weasley, was that so hard? I'm sure your Mummy would be very proud of you. Now get out of the dungeons."

Weasley gathered himself up, managing not to run, but as he rounded the corner, they could hear his footfalls as he ran for the light of day.

Sadie gave a sigh of relief and brushed her purple hair away from her face.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny, one of the last predicted nice days left of the summer. Though the temperature was only moderate, the sunshine made the whole world seem bright. A few fluffy clouds were strung out in the sky like cotton candy. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the trees in the forbidden forest.

Down at the Quidditch pitch, the Slytherin House team had gathered early. They were doing their warm-up exercises as those who hoped to make the team arrived, brooms over their shoulders. Harry felt nervous standing with these other children, most of whom were much taller than he.

Draco had scouted up the line, checking out not the hopefuls, but their brooms. He had gleefully reported back that nobody else had a Nimbus 2000. Most of the others had Cleansweep Sixes, but a few had model Sevens. Two girls had the latest Comet Trading Company model, the Comet 270. One third year boy, Charles Warrington, had a Nimbus 1950. Draco told Harry that his broom was the best of the lot. It was small comfort to his nervous stomach.

There were four open positions on the team; two Chaser positions and both Beater positions. In addition, with the starting Seeker having left school, Terence Higgs would have to defend his position. Theo had gone down the line as well, making inquiries. A lot of people wanted to be Seeker.

It was the position of glory, Harry had learned from all the stories he'd heard. Only the Seeker could end the match, so it was a matter of being the quickest to catch the Golden Snitch, and they had to be quick, so that the hundred-fifty points it earned would assure victory. If a match went on for months, as was a possibility, the hundred-fifty points would no longer matter much, but if it ended quickly, they would overwhelm any normal point spread. Seekers were very important and were thus also the players most often fouled.

"All right you lot, we're going to get started," shouted Flint. "All who are trying out for Chaser get over here. You'll fly two at a time, and Bletchley and I will be judging your performance. Best six move on, and then we try for Beaters."

The first two candidates kicked off into the sky. Flint called various maneuvers out to them and they performed, tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Bletchley kicked off and went to guard the goal rings while they practiced taking shots at him. Neither was any good, Draco told him.

The next pair was a bit better, as was the pair after. Finally Flint called the last pair down, and made some notes on his clipboard. "Good," he said shortly. "Everybody stick around. Beaters! Over here! Now! C'mon, move!"

For this trial, Flint took to the air with the Quaffle in his hand, challenging the hopefuls to knock him off his broom, or to at least make him drop the ball. Both Bludgers were turned loose, and every hopeful took a bat into the sky with him. Bletchley was keeping notes on performance, using Flint's clipboard.

Flint could fly, nobody had any doubts about this. He flew literal circles around everybody else in the sky. Nobody even came close to getting him with either of the two Bludgers. It was a pair of fourth year boys, Ivan Bole and Matthew Derrick, who did the best of them all, who whacked the Bludgers hardest, who turned to whacking their competition instead of their target.

One by one, the other hopefuls fell from the sky. Finally, only those two boys were left, and veritable gorillas they were. They whacked their Beaters' bats together in triumph.

"What d'ya think you're doing?" Bletchley yelled up at them. "Flint! Get down here!"

Everyone sank down to the earth. Flint was grinning madly.

"Are you two insane?" Bletchley demanded of the pair.

Bole looked at Derrick. Derrick looked at Bole. "We couldn't touch Flint," Bole began. "So we figured we'd show what we got," continued Derrick. "Only way to do that was to take out the competition," Bole finished.

"Either way, I'm impressed," Flint said cheerfully. "You're both on the team for showing considerable initiative and creativity. It won't be that easy to nail the folks on the other team, mind, but you've got skills we can build on."

Bletchley fumed for a minute, then handed Flint back his clipboard. "Moving on," he suggested.

"Yes. Seekers!" Flint bellowed. "Great Scot," he muttered, looking at the fifteen people who stepped forward.

"All right, this is how it's going to work. You're going to go in batches of five. I'm going to release the Snitch. The first one to get it moves on to the next round, and so on. Beaters will be practicing, as will the Chasers," he looked down at his clipboard, "Montague, Pucey, Warrington, Pritchard, Fawcett, and DuMonde, your trial isn't done yet. Miles, get up to those hoops. It's Warrington, Montague, and Pucey against Fawcett, Pritchard, and duMonde. Whichever team scores more points than the other will have a further trial, with two of you getting on the team.

"Seekers, nobody is looking out for you. Beaters will be trying to get you with Bludgers, Chasers are going to get in your way, and other Seekers will try to take you out. That's the name of the game today, survival of the fittest. Get to the Snitch, and you move on to round two. You five," he said, pointing, "are first."

Harry was one of those five.

"Go Harry!" "You'll do great!" His friends were very encouraging, but Harry's stomach was filled with butterflies.

Draco clapped him on the back.

Sadie hugged him. "Be careful." Her blue eyes were oddly bright. For some reason, Harry thought of his mother and had a guilty twinge at the thought of the danger he had concealed from her.

"In the air! I'm releasing the Snitch!"

Harry kicked off, wobbling just a bit. The Nimbus was amazing, he decided, responding almost to his thoughts rather than his motions. He looked around and saw that the other four would-be Seekers were all very confident, or at least hiding their nervousness well. The six Chasers began to circle; the two Beaters were whacking the Bludgers back and forth between them.

Flint tossed the Quaffle high into the air, and the game was on. Fawcett swooped in and snatched it, tossing it to Pritchard, who fumbled it. Montague plucked it out of her grasp and passed to Pucey. Pucey caught it, dodged around DuMonde, and caught a Bludger to the ribs, dropping the Quaffle.

Fawcett grabbed it again and made for the goal rings, charging at Warrington, flipping upside down and cutting very closely beneath him. She faked a throw on the third ring, faked another throw on the first ring, and threw back to DuMonde, who sent it soaring through the middle ring, much to Bletchley's disgust.

What a game!

Harry snapped his focus back to the Snitch. He had to find it! He scoured the field, hunting for it. It was easier now, with the bright sunshine, and he kept hunting for that speck of gold. One of the other Seekers took a Bludger to the head and sank down to the ground. That was good! His competition was now less.

Montague scored again, then Warrington scored, and then Pucey scored twice more. Montague's team was showing distinctly better teamwork and coordination.

Harry started as he caught a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, but it was only somebody's wristwatch. Then out of nowhere, another Seeker came flashing past, hand out-stretched, the Snitch fluttering and fleeing a few feet in front. Harry bent over his broom handle and took off after.

In no time, he had caught up. The Nimbus 2000 was showing its value, and Harry was neck-and-neck with the girl. She was straining, leaning, reaching for that winged golden ball. He wasn't as long in the arm as she was, so he nudged his broom to go faster.

CRACK!

Harry's world was suddenly filled with blinding white pain. He wavered, losing the track of the Snitch, and his broom went off course. He clutched his shoulder, tears springing to his eyes. He saw the Bludger go arcing around and making another go, this time at the girl. She too was hit, and the Snitch escaped.

Harry fought back his tears. Quidditch is a rough game, he told himself. I knew that getting into it. Just got to try harder and be more aware.

Two other Seekers had taken off after the Snitch when Harry and the girl had been ambushed by the Bludgers. He could still see the Snitch, frantically trying to escape. He angled his broom and sped off. Within seconds, he was right back where he'd been.

He was bumped and jostled and elbowed, but he refused to give up, giving back just as good as he got. He leaned forward even more, urging his Nimbus on, and began to pull away from the others. He reached out his hand, straining.

He had it! The tickling feeling of the wings was still the same, but he refused to open his hand. He gripped it firmly, making sure it didn't get away.

"I've got the Snitch!" he yelled, holding it up over his head.

Flint's whistle blew. All the Seekers dropped back down to the ground, and Harry handed over the Snitch.

"Excellent job, Potter. You make it to round two. Have a rest. Lot two, get in the air." Five more would-be Seekers kicked off.

"Snitch!" Flint bellowed as he released it. The game was afoot again. The Chasers kept chasing, the Beaters kept beating, and the Keeper did his best to stay alive.

"Way to go, Harry!" Draco said, slapping Harry on the shoulder. Whiteness filled Harry's vision, and he nearly fell to the ground.

Sadie caught him to prevent him from falling. "Something's wrong." She looked pale.

"Easy," Theo said, helping her hold him up. "What's wrong, mate?"

"Shoulder," Harry whispered, "Bludger."

Draco's face fell. "Oh no, I'm sorry, Harry! I didn't know!"

Theo looked around. "We don't have time to take him up to Madam Pomfrey. I could try to do something, if you want me to."

The pain was incredible. "Please?"

"Okay, brace yourself."

"Do be careful," said Sadie agitated.

Harry didn't hear the incantation, but the pain seemed to recede slightly. He felt Theo's fingers probing at his shoulder.

"I don't think anything's broken," he said doubtfully. "Hit you right here?"

Harry winced. "Yeah," he gasped.

"Well there's a phenomenal lump there, but I don't think your shoulder blade is broken. It feels like it's still in one piece. Let me try another spell."

The pain lifted some more. "Better," Harry said, taking a deep breath and speaking normally.

"Good," Theo said. "I'm sorry I can't do more, but I'm no Healer."

"It's all right, Theo," Harry said gratefully. "Thanks."

Sadie wrinkled her freckled nose. "We need a Healer. We need Madame Pomfrey."

"Third group, in the air!" Flint shouted at the remaining Seekers.

"C'mon Harry, let's have a sit. You're going to need your strength for the next round." Draco was being very solicitous, leading him to a bench that had been set up on the sidelines.

Harry sat down with a thunk. He took deep breaths, trying to get the blood circulating through his body, bringing natural healing power with it. He wasn't watching as the last of the would-be Seekers finished their match. He was only trying to make the pain stop.

"Potter, Lapointe, and Drummond, get over here!" bawled Flint. "Higgs, where are you?"

"You can't go now, you've got to get to the hospital wing," said Sadie, biting her bottom lip.

"That's enough, Sadie, the trials are more important," said Draco.

"Yeah, quieten down Sadie," said Millie.

Sadie glared as Millie and Daphne gripped her skinny arms so she could not interfere as Draco dragged Harry over to where the rest were.

Flint addressed them. "First of all, congratulations on getting this far. Now then, Higgs was reserve Seeker last year, so he's been bumped to first team; however, if one of you can get to the Snitch before he does, that means that you are on the first team, and whoever can catch it next is on second team. Any questions?"

There were none.

"Good, in the air with you then!"

This was the moment of truth. This was where he would sink or swim. If he wanted on the team, he had to ignore the pain in his shoulder, fly straight, and catch that Snitch.

"Loose!" Flint called out, and the flash of gold went zooming by Harry. He wasted no time and immediately took off after it.

Bump, elbow, prod, zoom, it was all a blur to Harry, receding back behind the white haze of pain. There was only the Snitch and those who wanted to take it away from him.

CRASH! went a Bludger as it smashed into Drummond, breaking up the knot of Seekers. Higgs had spied it and looped out of the way, and he was the first back on the Snitch's course. Harry broke off, wanting to avoid that Bludger. Higgs nearly had it; there was nothing for it.

Harry leaned back slightly, easing the forward momentum of his broom. Higgs pulled away, Lapointe hot on his tail. Reserve Seeker would be good enough. But wait! As Harry watched, the Snitch began a long, looping arc, coming back towards him! He put on a burst of speed and angled for an intercept.

He blind-sided Higgs, smashing into him with terrific force. The pain in Harry's shoulder almost made him black out, but he fought to keep his focus. His broom started wobbling, so he switched hands, reaching out with his injured arm. Just a little more speed! He had it! He could barely feel it for all the pain he was in, but the Snitch was there in Harry's hand.

Flint's whistle blew. "Potter, come on down. Everyone else keep moving!"

Harry landed hard next to Flint. He handed over the Snitch.

"Congratulations Potter. I guess Professor Snape wasn't fooling when he said you could fly well. You've made the team."

Harry nodded absently, seeing his friends charging towards him from the side of the pitch where they'd been watching.

"You don't look so good," Flint said to him. He had a worried look on his face.

"I don't feel so good, either," Harry said and fainted, crashing to the grass in a heap.

00O00

"Where am I?" Harry asked as soon as he was conscious again. Looking around, he saw that everything in the large room was white. He looked up at the concerned faces of his friends. He was in a bed with white linen sheets.

"Hospital wing," Draco answered. "You fainted after you made the team. Congratulations, by the way."

"I knew you could do it!" Millie said a bit too loudly, earning her a glare from Madam Pomfrey.

"Prodigious!" Tracy exclaimed. She was holding his right hand and Sadie his left. Harry smiled slightly at Tracy. Draco snorted.

"I fainted?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh Harry, we were so worried!" Tracy said. "We saw you hit the ground, but they wouldn't let us get near."

Sadie sniffed. Her blue eyes were bloodshot, like she'd been crying.

"How'd I get here?" he asked, touched that his friends had been so concerned.

"Flint kept everyone away and cast a spell," Draco told him. "You stiffened up like a plank, and he brought you up here himself. He would have stayed, but he had to get back to the trials."

Theo nodded. "That Bludger banged your shoulder up a treat," he said, "Madam Pomfrey said you'd had a bit of a shock, but that you'd be right as rain in a few hours."

"My shoulder doesn't hurt," he said thickly.

"She fixed you right up," Theo said. "Said I'd done a nice bit of work with my spells, too," he preened. Nothing made Theo happier than praise for good work.

Sadie flicked a strand of her purple hair away from her face. "She also told you off for not taking him to her immediately." Her voice sounded a little hoarse.

"When can I leave?"

"Anytime you want to, Potter," said Madame Pomfrey as she bustled over. She pointed her wand at his shoulder and hummed to herself in satisfaction.

"Right as rain," she confirmed. "You'll be just in time for lunch. Go on now!"

Harry sat up and swung his feet around. He pulled on his trainers and got to his feet, waving off Sadie's help.

"I'm hungry," he announced.

Tracy and Pansy giggled. Millie took his arm.

"C'mon, Seeker, let's go get you fed."


	10. Troll in the Dungeons

Perhaps it was because he was so busy now, what with Quidditch practice twice a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he's already been at Hogwarts two months.

His friends were amazing. They'd taken Harry into their House and into their hearts. Harry knew that if he ever had to make a stand, any of his friends would jump up to stand beside him, no matter the odds, no matter the opposition. He would do the same for them.

Now that they had mastered the basics, their lessons were becoming more interesting. In Charms they had begun to work on levitation, the spell that Professor Flitwick had used to send Tracy's kitten, Argent, zooming about the classroom. So far, they had focused on the wrist movement ("Swish and flick!") and properly pronouncing the words.

On Halloween morning they came up into the castle proper led by their noses, which had been filled with the wonderful smell of baking pumpkin. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to actually try casting the levitation spell. He told the class to break into pairs and passed out a feather to each pair of students. Harry was partnered with Draco, though he could have quite easily worked with any of his friends.

Today, luck was with them all. Even those of the Slytherins who had been struggling managed to successfully send their feathers floating around the room today. Only Pansy was having trouble; she managed to set her feather on fire, filling the room with a highly unpleasant smell.

"Well done, all of you!" cried Professor Flitwick. "Fifty points to Slytherin!"

Charms was their last class that day, so they holed up in the library afterwards to finish some homework. Professor Snape had assigned an essay on the Combo Concoction that was due the following morning. They would actually be attempting to make the potion in one week.

Sadie had been attempting her own magical experiment in between classes. She held up a shiny green facemask of some smooth, rubbery material to show the other Slytherins. "Manitee Hyde. But plied with a fusion curse. It may give a power boost."

"That's dark magic," said Tracy.

Sadie wrinkled her freckled nose. "Only the way Gryffindors define 'dark magic,' that is, anything they disapprove of. So love potions, which are essentially date rape drugs, don't count as dark by their standards and neither does hexing cuss words into young girls faces. But if they disapprove of anything, it becomes dark." She waved the green mask in front of them. "This is how magical breakthroughs are made. Experimenting."

Sadie could certainly be passionate about magical experiments.

When it was time for dinner, they all entered the Great Hall and stopped in their tracks. The Hall had been absolutely transformed. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, turban askew, and terror written across his face. Everyone stared in amazement as he tripped and fell to his knees in front of the High Table.

"Troll!" he gasped. "In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know." He slid to the floor in a dead faint.

For a second nobody moved. Then someone screamed and a panicked uproar filled the hall. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately. Quickly now!"

Niles the prefect spoke to them. "Listen up, everyone. Because this troll is in the dungeons, I have decided that it would be too dangerous to try to lead you all back to the common room. We're going to the library instead."

"What will Professor Dumbledore say?" a frightened girl asked.

Niles lip curled. "Sometimes the Headmaster is a little absent-minded. I'm sure it just slipped his mind that our common room is in the dungeons."

"It's going to be all right, Sam," Sadie assured the girl, taking her hand.

"Yeah, right, sweetie, you ought to know," said Sam sourly.

The prefects stationed themselves all around the Slytherins, forming a defensive perimeter. The fifth, sixth, and seventh year students all had their wands out as well. Niles led the way towards the library.

Theo tugged at Harry's and Draco's robes, pulling the boys towards the back of the group and then ducking off to the side. He had a strange look to his face, a weird glint in his eye. Blaise followed them, his curiosity plain to see.

"What?" Draco asked, irritated, twitching his robes back into place.

"Let's go," Theo said.

"Where?" Harry asked, confused.

"To the dungeons!"

Harry stared at his friend. "Are you insane?" he hissed. "There's a great bloody troll in the dungeons! Why do you think the prefects are taking us to the library instead of our common room?"

"I've read about trolls," Theo said. "I think we can beat one. C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Fun?" Draco said incredulously. "Evidently this is some definition of 'fun' that I am unaware of. Theo, you're going to get us killed!"

"It's only a troll-"

"Only a troll?" Harry gaped at him. "You've been sniffing potion fumes and getting high, haven't you?"

"Look, I don't really think it'll be fun, but honestly, what a challenge! Don't you want to try your hand at something more advanced than feathers? We've been practicing hexes for nearly two months for what? Humiliating Weasley doesn't take that much preparation."

"It's quite a jump from feathers to trolls," Harry retorted. "I'd like a few intermediary steps, if you don't mind. Now come on. We're going to the library."

Theo shook off Harry's hand. "No way, no day. That troll is mine."

"You're out of your bloody mind!" Draco half-shouted, making a grab for Theo's robes.

Theo dodged neatly. "Come along if you want to," he threw back over his shoulder, and he sprinted down the hall.

Draco looked at Harry. Harry looked back, very unhappy. "You realize that we have to go after him," Harry said. But what would his mother say if she knew?

"We do?" Draco asked. "You mean he's not going to get what he deserves?"

"Forget this," Blaise declared. "I'm not going anywhere near that troll." He retreated back the way they had come.

Harry grabbed Draco's robes and began pulling him down the hall in the direction Theo had gone. "He's our friend, and we have to stick by him, even though he's a fool. As soon as we save him, I'm going to hex him into next week, but right now he needs our help."

Draco changed the subject, pulling his robes free of Harry's grasp and straightening them yet again. "I wonder how a troll got in," he mused as they walked. "They're really stupid. No way it could have gotten in on its own."

"Peeves?" Harry suggested.

"Could be. Not really his style though." This was clearly bothering Draco.

Harry stopped suddenly, holding up his hand for silence. They could both clearly hear hurrying footsteps.

"Prefect looking for us!" hissed Draco, pulling Harry into a shadowed corner. In fact it was Professor Snape striding down the corridor and disappearing through a secret passage.

"What's he doing up here?" Harry asked. "Shouldn't he be with the other teachers in the dungeons?"

"No idea. That passage leads to the third floor, though. What's up there that he's so concerned about?"

"Hey, there's Theo!"

"Glad you could join me," Theo muttered, as they moved forward to stand near him.

"You idiot…" Draco began, but then a shrill girl's voice rang out.

"There you are! What're you thinking?" Sadie had followed them. Harry had never seen her angry before, but she clearly was. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her blue eyes were glinting. Cora had told Harry once of a saying hags had, 'beware the wrath of a gentle girl.' Presumably that meant that a gentle girl would have to be really ticked off to start being wrathful. How wrathful was Sadie? She began to reproach them: "What're you doing…? trying to get yourselves killed again… like mad Gryffindors…" she spluttered. She was breathing through her nose, clutching her wand in one small hand and that weird, green mask in the other.

"You're following us into danger," Draco pointed out. "We don't need a babysitter."

"Well, Draco, I think you do," said Sadie. "Have you any idea how worried you made me?"

"Enough to not think clearly and run after us by yourself," said Draco annoyingly.

"It was Theo running off to tackle the troll on his own," said Harry hastily as Sadie's glare intensified. "We were trying to stop him. I didn't really stop to think."

Her expression softened. "Come." She motioned with her wand for them to follow her. "If the troll's in the dungeons we should be alright to get back to the library..."

But the troll wasn't in the dungeons. It was coming towards them! The troll was huge and ugly. It dragged a thick club on the ground behind it as it shuffled through the hall. It smelled worse than the sewer where Harry grew up had ever done.

"Get back!" Snapped Sadie. She pressed the green mask to her face and poked her cheek with her wand, then gave a little cry. The mask stuck in place. Sadie now had a smooth, bright green shiny face. Her lips were a darker green. Almost black. Harry felt an upsurge in his affection for her. She drew her wand and pointed it, not at the troll, but at the giant club it carried. "Wingardium Leviosa! "

The club was wrenched out of the troll's grasp and soared into the air. The troll stopped shambling along and stood blinking stupidly at its own weapon. Then the club fell and smacked the troll in the head! It was stunned for a moment, but then it shook off its daze and roared in anger.

"Bonkers!" Draco exclaimed, drawing his own wand. " Wingardium Leviosa! " he cried, pointing his wand at a marble pillar with an oil lamp resting on it. The pillar shuddered, then slowly rose into the air.

" Wingardium Leviosa! " Theo echoed, pointing at one of the tapestries that hung everywhere in this castle. He brought the fabric up high, maneuvering it over the troll's head, and dropped it down, blinding it.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" said Harry, causing a marble table to rise in the air and hit the troll as well.

"Hit it hard!" Draco shouted, and both he and Harry began striking the troll about the head and shoulders with their floating, impromptu weapons. They got about six good hits in before, with a groan of pain, the troll tottered and crashed to the ground.

Everyone was frozen for a moment, not believing it was over. Then Theo laughed and twirled his wand in his fingers. "One for Slytherin! What's the freaky face mask for, Sadie?"

"An experiment to boost my powers," said Sadie. "Dunno if it worked, though." She grappled at her shiny green cheeks and then pinched her shiny green nose. "Wait, how do I get it off?"

"You invented it. You tell me," said Theo.

"What is going on here?" came a shocked and infuriated voice. The Slytherins turned to see Professor McGonagall standing nearby, her face pinched, her lips white from being pressed together. She was eyeing them like a wrathful eagle.

Sadie put a hand to her mouth.

"Hello, Professor," Theo said nonchalantly. "How are you this evening?"

"None of your cheek, Nott," snapped McGonagall. "Why aren't you in your common room?"

"Well," drawled Draco, "seeing as how there was a troll loose in the dungeons, our prefects decided to take us to the library instead."

"Then why aren't you in the library?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"A worthy question," interjected Professor Snape, coming onto the scene with Professor Quirrell close behind. He bent over to examine the troll. "This troll has been beaten quite severely." He stood up. "How?" he asked, his black eyes boring directly into Harry's.

"We applied today's Charms lesson, sir," he said, relieved to be speaking to his own Head of House, someone he knew would be on his side. "We used the Levitation Charm and just kept hitting it until it stopped moving."

McGonagall was staring at them in disbelief. Quirrell leaned against the wall. Some Defence master.

Snape, however, was regarding his first-year charges with something akin to pride. "Yes, well, with such fearsome weapons, the outcome was inevitable."

"Of all the- Why I never- How could you be so stupid?!" McGonagall burst out. "You could have been killed!"

"But they weren't," Snape said sharply. "They prevented this troll from causing murder and mayhem here in the castle. Their methods were crude, no doubt, but no less inspired for it." He looked critically at them. "Twenty points," he said firmly.

Harry delighted in the look of consternation that crossed McGonagall's face. "Professor Snape," she began.

"Each."

"Now really!"

"The four of you may return to the Great Hall. I believe now that the troll has been taken care of, the Halloween Feast can continue as planned." Professor Snape's dismissal was great news, and the three of them dashed away. As they rounded the corner, they saw Professor McGonagall shaking her finger at Professor Snape, who looked profoundly unintimidated.

Harry took Sadie's hand as they went down to the Great Hall. She gave him a small smile. Her face was still bright green, shiny and plastic looking.

Back in the Great Hall, the students were beginning to return, their plates still as they had left them. Harry sat down and took a bite of his baked potato. It was still warm.

"Well," Theo said brightly, "that was an adventure."

Sadie glared at him. Her plastic green face was still expressive.

Draco reached over and shoved his friend's face into his soup bowl. "Never do that do me again!" Theo was sputtering soup. "I am not a Gryffindor, I am not bravely stupid, and I do not enjoy facing certain death!"

"Stop that," said Sadie, grabbing at Draco's arm.

"He deserves it!"

But Harry assisted Sadie, making Draco release Theo's head. Theo came up out of his soup gasping for breath, and groping for a napkin.

"You'll pay for that, Malfoy," Theo threatened.

00O00

They took Sadie to the hospital wing to try and get her green mask off, but Madame Pomfrey couldn't budge it. It really was stuck on her face.

"What am I gonna do?" Sadie sounded somewhat frantic as she gripped at her shiny green face. She really did look funny with her bright green face clashing with her purple hair.

Madame Pomfrey stroked Sadie's purple hair, a fond expression playing around her lips. "It hasn't hurt your health, or impaired your powers, dearest. Let it be a lesson about dangerous magical experiments. You ought to stick to the Healer/Mediwitch charter."

Sadie stared at Madame Pomfrey, her blue eyes wide. Harry felt a warm crumbly feeling inside and wanted to comfort her. He hugged her and kissed her cheek. Her green face was cold and felt like rubber or plastic. Face so green, eyes so blue, such vivid hair…

"I love you, just the same," he said. "I believe in your experiments," he added, feeling generous.

Sadie's dark green bottom lip quivered, and she nodded, holding him tight.

00O00

Late that night, Sadie and Harry sat on Harry's fourposter bed with the curtains drawn so they could be private.

Sadie was talking about her experiments. "Mum is an experienced Healer, and she did try and use her magic to cure a Muggle boy with leukaemia. But she couldn't. She could have done more if she'd known dark magic as well. I swore to find out better magical cures to help people, even if it means experimenting with dark magic. That's why I belong in Slytherin."

Harry looked at her green face all the while as she spoke. He touched her cold, green cheek. "That sounds really noble."

She smiled. "I never saw the point of blaming Muggles for being Muggles. We'd do a lot of good if we were not forced to live in hiding. Someday I want to be able to help the most people. Even if that is against Secrecy Laws. The Hat said that was a great ambition and that Slytherin would help me fulfill my ambition."

Harry put his arms around her skinny waist. "I'm glad you're in my house, no matter what."

She grinned, her white teeth a contrast to her green face. "You're so adorable."

Harry sighed. "I got into trouble again tonight, even though it was all Theo's fault. I feel awful about lying to mum. And then, I'm lying to our friends by not trusting them with the truth."

Sadie gazed at him, her blue eyes intense. "You must be the one to decide to tell her the truth. Only you can do it. I'd help you explain things if you did. The troll thing isn't your fault. I'm certain she'd see you should stay at Hogwarts."

"But I can't lose my friends, especially not you," said Harry, holding her tight. They talked long into the night and fell asleep in each other's arms.

00O00

The Quidditch season had begun!

On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Gryffindor was in third place in the House Cup, though the points from winning the match would not let them take first place. Slytherin was already in first place, and they wanted to maintain that lead.

Harry's presence on the team had not been kept secret, so some people kept telling him he'd be brilliant, while others told him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress. Draco, Theo, and anyone else who knew Harry's skill always laughed at anyone who said this, which irritated Weasley and his fellow Gryffindors immensely.

Last minute practices forced on the team by Flint made Harry even more grateful for his friends, who helped him get through his homework. The week raced by, and Harry's nervousness increased each day. That Friday in Potions class, the tension in the air was heavy. Glares shot both ways across the room, and only the impending arrival of Professor Snape kept things from escalating. The door swung aside and the lesson begun.

"Patil, what is the ratio of distilled water to dandelion sap in the Wart Removing Potion?"

Poor Parvati Patil was stuck working with Weasley. If rumour was to be believed, she'd apparently drawn the short straw this morning. Weasley had a different partner every class because none of the Gryffindors wanted to work with him anymore. So far, to Harry's knowledge, Weasley had not managed to brew a single potion correctly. Weasley was even worse at Potions than the hopelessly inept Longbottom. Whenever those two worked together, an explosion was almost guaranteed.

Weasley was always the first one to bolt from the Potions dungeon, anxious as he was to escape both Professor Snape and the Slytherins. His mistakes had lost Gryffindor a number of points, and earned him many biting, scathing remarks from the professor. He hadn't yet gotten slapped with a detention, but Harry was sure it was only a matter of time.

Harry stared in amazement as the Potions Master limped down the aisle. Professor Snape was a Slytherin to the core, yet he was limping, showing weakness. Something was seriously wrong.

"See that?" he whispered to Sadie.

She looked concerned. "Ohh… poor thing. He's really hurt."

Curiosity consumed Harry all through the lecture. He was distracted to the point that he nearly added double the required amount of beetle eyes to his potion. Fortunately, Sadie was paying attention and saved their work.

After class was over, Weasley bolted and all the other students headed up to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry stayed behind with Sadie. Snape had his head buried in one of the supply cupboards. Sadie went up to Snape.

"Sir?"

"What is it, girl?"

She gazed up at him, her blue eyes wide in her green face. The whites of her eyes did contrast with her green mask. "Are you all right, sir? I – I want to help."

Harry saw Snape's piercing black eyes bore into hers.

"I appreciate the concern, McIntyre, but I am fine. A strained muscle this morning during my morning stretches. I do not want your experiments performed on me."

Sadie would have blushed if her face wasn't an unchanging green mask now. The result of her failed experiment. "I wouldn't do an experiment," she mumbled. "I only wanted to help."

Something about Snape's explanation didn't ring true, but Harry knew it was none of their business. If Snape didn't want help or sympathy, so be it. He took Sadie by the hand.

"Yes sir," he said. "We were just worried, that's all. You know, about not showing weakness to the Gryffindors. They're like vultures, aren't they?"

A cheek muscle twitched in Snape's stern face. "I see. Rest assured, I will be fine in several more hours, Mr. Potter."

"Yes, sir," Harry said again. Something on the floor caught his eye. "Professor? What's this on the floor?" He leant over to touch it, but Sadie caught his arm.

"It's blood," she murmured. The dim lights of the dungeon shone off her green nose as she stared at it.

"Nothing to be concerned about, Potter," Snape said, his voice taking on a slight warning tone.

Harry deflated. Snape obviously wasn't going to tell. "Yes sir," he said and they walked towards the door.

"Oh, and Potter?" came Snape's voice behind him. They turned.

"You four foolishly endangered the reputation of Slytherin House," Snape said, "and your lives. I am responsible for your lives, and if you ever act like a hot-headed Gryffindor again, you will wish that the troll had gotten you. Do you understand?"

They both nodded frantically. Snape turned back to his tasks. They bolted for the door and back to the hall and told their friends what they had learned.

"So," Theo muttered. "Professor Snape was limping, and now you discover blood on the floor. There's more to this than a strained muscle. Something hurt Snape, something that can't be healed with common magic. Something else is preventing him from getting proper treatment for it. This is a mystery."

"Wish he'd let me help him," said Sadie glumly. Harry patted her little hand.

"Hey Draco," Theo said, waving the blond boy over. "Got any ideas about this?" He explained the situation and his own speculations.

Draco's eyes were very serious. "I have an excellent idea," he said, looking directly at Harry. "We saw him headed towards the third floor the night we fought the troll. How much would you care to wager that he had a run-in with that three-headed dog?"

Harry gasped. Images of that great vicious beast came back to him just as sharply as if it were in front of him again. "Are you saying that Snape is after whatever the dog's guarding?"

Draco frowned, his eyebrows coming together in deep thought. "That's what the evidence points to. The plot thickens."

Millie shoved Draco down the bench. "Hey, you're talking pretty loud, you know. I don't think any of the other students heard you, but Pansy and I heard you loud and clear."

Daphne leaned over. "I heard you too. We really shouldn't talk about this here, you know."

"Fine," said Theo. "In our practice room after lunch. Until then, not another word."

Harry couldn't eat. He did his best to observe the head table inconspicuously, but he needn't have worried; Professor Snape never arrived.

After what seemed like forever, lunch was over and the Slytherin first years nearly ran from the hall and to an empty storage room.

"Okay, let's go over it from the beginning," Pansy said, "just to make sure we're not missing anything."

Harry recounted everything.

"So that's all the solid evidence we have," Theo said. "Now then, my theory, which is based solely on the evidence, is that Professor Snape let the troll in to cause a distraction while he tried to get at whatever the dog is guarding, and the dog is what injured him, leaving him with that limp and causing him to be dripping blood on the floor."

"But that's absurd!" Daphne protested. "He's a teacher, he wouldn't be trying to steal something that Dumbledore is keeping safe."

Tracy snorted derisively. "Not all the teachers are saints, you know, and everyone can be tempted. What if it was a magic artefact or something with special magic powers?"

"Snape might disobey Dumbledore, but it wouldn't be for the wrong reasons," said Sadie. "If it was a magical artefact that could be used for good - to help people - that could justify disobeying the headmaster."

"You're both right," Draco said. "Everyone can be tempted. And yes, Dumbledore's a warped Machiavelli who doesn't deserve a valuable artifact. We've got to find out what that dog is guarding and why."

"How?" Harry asked.

Draco shook his head. "I don't know, but we are certainly not going to go adventuring around the school to find out. Two near-death experiences is about all I can handle."

Sadie gave a wry smile. "You'd better not go adventuring."

"Oh yes, Professor Snape told us that if we ever act so recklessly again, he'll make us wish the troll had got us," Harry told them. "He said we shouldn't act like Gryffindors."

That got a few chuckles, and Theo looked a little ashamed of himself.

But the question remained, what was the dog guarding, and why would Snape want to steal it?


	11. The Cursed Broomstick

"I'm leaving," Zabini announced one morning.

"What are you drivelling about?" said Draco

"My mother is pulling me out of Hogwarts. That's what I'm drivelling about. I'm going to Beauxbatons."

"Rough luck, pal," said Tracy.

"Yeah, sorry," said Harry.

Sadie put her thin arms around him and rested her green cheek against his chest. He was already near fully grown and she was small, so her purple and green head was only as high as his chest. "I'm so sorry. We won't forget you. Stay in touch. I'll write."

"Why're you going?" said Crabbe.

Harry cringed a bit. That part should have been obvious.

"The troll of course," snapped Blaise. "Mother is livid that a troll was able to even break in and that when informed that the troll was in the dungeons, Dumbledore dismissed our house to the dungeons. Obviously, a school run by Albus Dumbledore is a dangerous place. And of course, there's the fact that Nott went looking for the thing. Makes it seem like I'm surrounded by idiots."

Sadie gazed up at him, her dark green bottom lip quivering.

"Alright, Sadie, I'm not blaming you," said Zabini, touching the tip of her shiny green nose.

Harry felt a twinge of guilt. He could have tried harder to stop Theo's nonsense.

"Oh well," Draco said. "Sorry you've got to go to France. Do write us a letter and let us know how frogs' legs taste."

Harry nudged him to get him to shut up.

Blaise stormed off.

"Blaise, wait…" Sadie ran after him.

"Still think going after that troll was a good idea, Theo?" Draco asked nastily.

"You get too excited about these things, Draco," Theo said dismissively. "We're alive, aren't we?"

"No thanks to you!"

After Zabini had gone to Snape's office to make the arrangements for his transfer, Harry found Sadie and they had a whispered conversation. He leaned close to whisper. "I think you can see why I daren't tell my mum about the troll… and other things. If we went back to the sewers … I'd lose all my friends… I'd lose you."

She nodded. Her green mask was so tight, it was like a second skin. "I'm not blaming you, Harry. Believe me. I'm here to be your friend, not here to judge."

"I've got to talk to her now…"

They went down to the bottom of the boy's dorm tower and into the Jacuzzi room where they met Cora, who was sitting on the side of the empty Jacuzzi, looking anxious.

She stood up and threw her green arms around them.

"Oh darlings, I was so worried," she said.

"You know there was a troll running wild," said Sadie. "But I was looking out for Harry all the time."

"Yes. She wasn't willing to let me slip off, or anything mad like that," said Harry, telling the truth about this part.

Sadie nodded. "I will be keeping a careful eye on him when he has to play Quidditch."

Cora touched her green cheek with her equally bright green hand. They were markedly alike now. "It's such a weight off my mind, that he has a friend like you, Sadie."

Harry wasn't going to tell his mum the truth, and he was glad that Sadie wasn't pressing the issue.

00O00

The sky that Saturday morning was bright, clear, and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages, and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

Harry didn't just have butterflies in his stomach. He had snakes! Suitable for a nervous Slytherin.

"You really should eat something, Harry," Draco told him as he porridge into his mouth.

"I don't want anything."

"Have a bit of toast, at least," Theo urged him, holding the plate in front of him.

Harry pushed the plate away. "No thanks, I'm not hungry." He felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the pitch.

"Harry, you need your strength." Millie was sitting next to him, forking eggs onto his plate.

The other girls were beginning to congregate around them.

"Yeah," Pansy chimed in. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered the worst by the other team, you know."

"Not funny, Pansy. Not funny at all," said Sadie. Her green face was very grave. "Harry, dear, try the eggs now, they're good for protein."

"Can't," said Harry.

Sadie took a little diamond shaped bottle from her pocket. It had a glutinous purple liquid inside which she sprinkled on the eggs. They immediately gave off an appealing smell to Harry.

"Do you know what you're doing?" said Theo.

"Come on, Harry, eat up," said Sadie, touching his shoulder. Harry was able to force the eggs down now. He wondered what magic she'd used.

Finally, Captain Flint came over and put his hand on Harry's shoulder, bringing him out of his fearful imaginings. "All right, boy?"

Harry tried to answer, but all that came out was a croak. Flint grinned at him. "Not to worry, two winks after we kick off, you'll be moving too fast to be nervous. C'mon, let's go get you suited up."

"Good luck Harry!" everyone wished him.

Sadie put her arms around him and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. Her green face felt cold and plastic.

The team assembled in the changing rooms: Miles Bletchley, Desmond Montague, Adrian Pucey, Ivan Bole, and Matthew Derrick.

Bletchley handed out shirts as Flint began his pep talk.

"Now then, guys, we have a very important match in just a few minutes. We're currently in first place for the House Cup, and we have to keep that lead. Gryffindor is in third place, and nowhere near striking distance for second place. But since we want to take the Quidditch Cup as well for the sixth year in a row, we can't give them even a single break."

"Not even a broken bone?" asked Bole, sounding profoundly disappointed.

"Pedant," said Flint. "Okay, we can't give them even a single chance, and we try to give them as many breaks as possible."

Bole smiled beatifically, his expression matched by Derrick.

Harry suppressed a shudder. What would Cora or Sadie think of this?

"Wood still hasn't managed to find a real Seeker, so young Potter should win for us," Flint continued, giving Harry an encouraging grin. "Bole, Derrick, if their Seeker," he consulted his clipboard, "Katie Bell, gets anywhere near the Snitch, you take her out. Harry, I want you to keep out of the way as much as possible. That way we can rack up the points and cut Gryffindor's chances at taking either Cup in half. When we get, oh, say a hundred points up, then go after the Snitch. Unless I fly by and tell you otherwise, of course. Or, if you seriously think that we're in trouble, then go after it and just win."

He turned to the others. "Bole, Derrick, those Weasley twins are good Beaters, and they scare even me with their ruthlessness. I've never marketed love potions. You'll be responsible for protecting the rest of us. Fly quick, and if you can take out either of them, do it. Pucey, Montague, we've got to go out there and out-fly them. The three girls Wood has flying Chaser are all light, so they're going to be quick. We've practiced how to compensate for that, They'll watch for me to lead. We'll use that against them. And we'll smash them!"

"Yeah!" they all cheered.

The roar of the crowd greeted them as they stepped out of the tunnel. Slytherin supporters waved shot firecrackers into the sky. Green and silver confetti drifted down…

Madam Hooch, who was refereeing, stood in the center with her broom in hand, glaring at them all.

"Now then, I want a nice clean game, all of you," she said, staring directly at Flint. He smirked.

"Mount your brooms!"

Madam Hooch's silver whistle gave a piercing shriek. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off!

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor. What an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-"

"JORDAN!"

Harry didn't know the boy who was providing the play-by-play action, Lee Jordan, but Flint had warned Harry to ignore him - Jordan really let his Gryffindor bias show.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet. She's a great find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve. She passes back to Johnson- no! Intercepted by Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint! He's heading up the pitch, flying like an eagle up there. He takes a shot- no, a fake throw and a pass back to Chaser Adrian Pucey. Pucey puts it through the far ring. Slytherin score!"

Cheers rose from the Slytherins and their supporters. Howls and moans of dismay could be heard from the Gryffindors.

"Gryffindor back in possession, and Wood passes up to Chaser Alicia Spinnet. She dives around Flint, she's in the clear, nobody around her- OUCH! She takes a Bludger to the back of the head sent by Beater Ivan Bole. That had to hurt. I hope she's all right. The Quaffle is scooped up by Dezzy Montague of Slytherin, and he passes to Pucey. He goes for the shot, no, he's blocked by a second Bludger sent by George Weasley. Or is it Fred? Nobody can tell these two apart, but nice play by the Gryffindor Beater in any case. Johnson in possession, clear skies ahead. Wow, she's really moving! She takes the shot, she's got it! No! How did he do that? Keeper Miles Bletchley pulls off some sort of miracle and manages to block a perfect shot."

Jordan sounded as dismayed as the rest of the Gryffindors who had all started to cheer in anticipation of the ten points. Slytherin supporters roared in approval.

"Slytherin in possession," Jordan continued. "Chaser Pucey dodges a Bludger, a Weasley, the other Bludger, the other Weasley, and Chaser Bell. Looks like nothing can stop him, and- wait a minute, was that the Snitch?"

Harry saw a glint of gold. The Snitch! He dove for it. Gryffindor Seeker Bell had seen it too. Neck and neck, they hurtled along at top speed. The Chasers all seemed to have forgotten their jobs and hovered in mid-air as they watched the fight for the Snitch.

Harry was faster than Bell. He could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead. He leaned forward a tad more and began to edge away from Bell and her Cleansweep Six.

WHAM!

All the Slytherins cried foul as a Weasley blocked Harry, punching him in the face and making him spin off course. Madam Hooch had a harsh word for Weasley, but the Snitch had vanished again.

"Potter doesn't seem to know how to fly straight and hits the fist of a Gryffindor Beater-"

"Jordan!"

"It could happen to anyone, I'm sure. No penalty shot, as there was no foul, and Gryffindor is in possession."

It was as Harry dodged a Bludger that had been rocketing towards his head that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, he was convinced that he was going to fall. He gripped the handle tightly with both his hands and knees, but it happened again. It was as though the broom were a wild horse trying to buck him off, but Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Something was seriously wrong. He tried to turn. He had to get a time-out called and figure out what was wrong with his broom.

He couldn't turn. Harry was near panicking now. The broom was completely out of his control. It zigzagged through the air.

Jordan was rambling on as though nothing was wrong. "Slytherin in possession. Flint has the Quaffle, no Pucey, no Montague, no Pucey, these three are playing hard. Flint tries to be a Beater and uses his face to whack a Bludger. Ha! Hope it hurt. Montague puts the Quaffle away, oh no..."

The Slytherins were cheering. They were in the lead. Nobody seemed to have noticed that Harry was in trouble. His broom was gradually carrying him higher and higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

"What's Harry doing?" Sadie's voice trembled with anxiety as she peered through her purple binoculars.

"Has he lost control?" Millie said, instantly worried.

"Can't have," Draco said, puzzled.

"Then what's wrong?" Pansy demanded.

Tracy and Sadie both shrieked as Harry's broom began rolling over and over to the side, with Harry just barely holding on. Then it bucked again and Harry was swung right off! He was holding on with only one hand!

"Did something happen to it when Weasley blocked him?" Daphne asked intently.

"No third year Gryffindor could cast Dark magic powerful enough to mess with a Nimbus Two Thousand," said Theo. He stared through his gold rimmed binoculars, but instead of looking up, he looked down at the stands. "I don't believe it," he said, his voice carrying his shock.

"What?" Millie asked, still looking up at Harry.

"Professor Snape is casting a jinx."

"WHAT?" Sadie scanned the stands below with her binoculars. "Quirrell's staring at Harry without moving or blinking. He could be casting a dark spell too."

"Quirrell!" Tracy exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"One of them must be casting the counter-curse," Theo said.

"Obviously," said Sadie.

"But which is which?" Millie asked, frustration clear in her voice.

Flint had directed the other Chasers and the Beaters to fly a pattern below Harry, while he himself, the strongest flyer, tried to get close enough to snag him off the accursed broomstick. Each time he tried to dart at Harry, the broom kept rising higher...

While the Slytherins were busy, the Gryffindor Chasers attacked Bletchley with shots. He did his best to block, but was quickly being worn down, and Gryffindor's score began to catch up. Then Bletchley missed another shot, and the score was tied at sixty points.

Sadie slipped through the stands. It was just as well she was so small and thin, she could get between people with speed. She had another of her experiments handy. Two small, exploding pebbles. Highly flammable. The green faced girl reached the teachers' stand. Heart hammering in her breast, she poked both pebbles with her wand and chucked them both at Quirrell and Snape, setting their robes alight.

"Yer both on fire!" shouted Hagrid. The half-giant leapt onto Quirrell to smother the flames with his massive body. In the process, he knocked Snape staggering.

Up in the sky, Harry's broom stopped shaking. He swung himself back on.

"And Potter is ok!" Lee Jordan announced to the whole stadium. "Whatever problem that wonderful Nimbus Two Thousand had with a sneaky Slytherin riding it is apparently forgotten."

"Jordan!" snapped Professor McGonagall.

"And the score is tied at sixty points each. Come on girls! You can do it!"

The Slytherin Chasers dived at the Gryffindors in a perfect attack formation. Flint snatched the Quaffle and charged towards Wood.

THWACK! came a hideous sound, as Bole and Derrick thwacked the Bludger towards Wood.

Wood darted out of the way and the Slytherin Chasers were able to score repeatedly.

The stands began to murmur, the Gryffindor supporters clearly annoyed with how the team was taking a thrashing. Many of them turned to leave, not wanting to see the end of it. Slytherin was a hundred points up, one sixty to sixty.

Harry looked for the Snitch. It was toying with Bell, hovering all near and around her. Harry leaned forward and zoomed towards it.

Sensing danger, the Snitch tried to flee, but Harry had too much speed. Then, as he sped by, Bell knocked her broom into his! Harry lurched forwards, came near to losing his grip again, and he instantly headed for the ground.

He almost crashed, but fell off and to his knees. He retched, gagged, and spat up something shiny into his hands. Tiny fluttering wings shot out of the little golden ball, and he wrapped his fingers around it.

"I've caught the Snitch!" he yelled.

The Slytherins let up a tremendous cheer. The whole team began to converge on him.

Flint clapped him on the back. Pucey and Montague raised him up in the air.

"He didn't catch it!" One of the Weasley twins was bellowing.

"He nearly swallowed it!" the other finished the sentence.

"The final score, after that fluke by Potter puts Slytherin at three hundred ten, Gryffindor at sixty. Well, there won't be any celebrating in Gryffindor Tower tonight. The twins will make us suffer for this."

Harry and the rest of the team headed to the locker room and changed out of their robes. The Slytherin first years cornered Harry and pulled him behind Hagrid's hut.

"Harry, are you okay?" Sadie demanded, cupping his face in her hands. Her blue eyes were wide in her green face and she was trembling.

"I'm fine, dear." Harry had started to call Sadie 'dear' now. She was dear to him.

"Someone was jinxing your broom," Theo told him.

Harry turned to Theo. "Jinxing my broom? How?"

"Not how, who," Draco corrected.

"It was Snape, or Quirrell" Theo said.

"One of the two was cursing and the other was counter-cursing," said Sadie. She was still breathing through her green nose. "I know enough about dark magic to see that. But not who was doing which. I had to force them both to break eye contact at the same time. Nothing for it, but to set their robes on fire."

"So it wer you!" came a booming voice. They all cringed and turned to see Hagrid standing there, glaring down.

Sadie turned her green face to stare up at him.

"Hagrid, listen, please!" Harry begged him.

"Lightin' teachers on fire? What sorta Dark business are yer abou'? An ter think, McIntyre, yer teachers all say yer the nicest girl in Slytherin, even if yer green in the cheeks now! Proves there isn't a single Slytherin who didn' turn dark."

"What're you gonna do, Hagrid?" said Sadie steadily.

"Hagrid, she saved my life!" Harry cried. "Did you hear? Either Snape or Quirrell was cursing my broom!"

"Rubbish!"

"Snape may know that I know he tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween," Harry said.

Hagrid's jaw dropped. "How'd yer fin' out abou' that?" he asked, completely thunderstruck.

"We ran into the dog while running away from Filch one night. Then we saw Snape headed to the third floor on Halloween, and the next day he was limping and there was blood on the floor in the dungeon," Harry answered.

Sadie nodded, her purple hair rippled and bounced.

"Well, at least Fluffy's doin' his job," Hagrid said, looking pleased.

"Fluffy?"

"Yeah, he's mine. Got him from a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. He's here at school to guard-"

"Guard what?" Theo asked, insanely curious.

Hagrid's face got dark. "All of yer had better just leave this puzzle alone. Yer meddlin' in things wot are none o' yer concern. Ferget the dog, ferget about the package from Gringotts. Tha's between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Flamel!" Theo said triumphantly.

Hagrid got red in the face. "Out o' here, all of yer! Back to the castle! Now!"

They ran.

As quickly as they could, they got back to the safety of the dungeons. Theo immediately headed to the dormitory and began digging frantically through his box of Chocolate Frog cards.

"Where is it?" he half-shouted as he rummaged.

"Where's what?" Draco snapped at him. He was irritated; Theo had been ignoring all questions for the past few minutes.

"He's got to be here!"

"Are you saying that Flamel is on one of your cards?" Draco asked, clearly driven past politeness.

"I know he's on one! I just don't know where it is!"

"Good luck digging through that odd thousand," Crabbe chimed in.

"Let me help," said Sadie.

"You think I can't sort through my own cards?"

Harry touched her shoulder. "Sadie, thanks for saving me today."

Her green mask of a face stretched into a grin. "I love you, Harry. It was my pleasure."

They hugged and kissed. Her face was like a mannequin's.

Tracy opened the door.

"Harry!" she cried, her worry evaporating like morning dew. She threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. "We were worried sick!"

Harry made a muffled sort of noise; he had accidentally got a mouthful of her blonde hair. It was nice that she had started to hug him like Sadie did.

Soon Millie, Pansy, and Daphne were also hugging him. Harry wondered how Weasley could put about that Slytherins were cold and uncaring. His friends were the best people in the world.

"You can handle anything on the Quidditch field," said Pansy.

Sadie put her hand to her chest. She looked unhappy. "The reason I don't like Quidditch is this… having to see someone I love in mortal danger, and for what?"

"Oh, what do you know about it?" said Draco. Sadie rolled her eyes at him.

" No clue whether it was Quirrell or Snape?" Harry asked.

"None," Daphne sighed, "I don't know what's going on."

"Well I've got a bit of a clue that might help us figure out what's on the third floor," Harry interjected. He related the name that Hagrid had let slip: Nicholas Flamel. None of the girls recognized the name; Harry saw a bunch of blank faces.

"Well," he sighed, "Theo is tearing through his Chocolate Frog cards. If this Flamel is at all important, he'll be on one of those cards."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Millie asked, irked. "Whoever it was might try again."

"If it's not Professor Quirrell," Tracy declared, "then we must deduce that Professor Snape is the miscreant."

"But Snape seems to like me," Harry protested. "After the first week I think I became one of his favourite students."

"I thought I was his favourite. He's always writing positive comments in my homework. Does he do that with you too?" Tracy questioned. Harry nodded.

"Then we still don't know what the blazes is going on, do we?" Millie asked, still sounding frustrated. "It's still a big mystery."

Sadie ran her fingers through her purple hair. "I need to think of some way to tell. This is important."

"Guess so," Daphne said. "Oh well, at the rate we've been getting new clues, it won't be long now before Hagrid slips up and spills the beans."

Sadie and Harry gazed into each other's eyes. "Hagrid knows what's going on," Sadie said tentatively.

"No doubts," said Harry.

Sadie stroked her green cheek pensively. "We should be his friend… he might help."

"Probably our best lead right now." Harry sighed.

"You want to fool Hagrid? You'll make a Slytherin yet, Sadie," said Millie, clapping the small girl on the back.

"No… I want to be his friend. As a half-giant he might have trouble making friends."

"Hagrid is a half-giant?" said Draco sharply.

"He definitely is, Draco," said Sadie with a wry smile. "I don't blame him for keeping it quiet."

"Are you actually suggesting spending more time with that foul-smelling ox?" Pansy sniffed.

"Pansy… you're backbiting," admonished Sadie.

"I'll talk to Hagrid," Harry said firmly. "Someone tried to kill me. Before it was just a puzzle; now it's personal."

"Veracious!" Tracy cheered. "When someone takes on one Slytherin, they'd do well to remember that we travel in packs."


	12. Memories In A Wintry Night

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, the Slytherins awoke to find the grounds covered with a thick blanket of snow that had fallen in the night. Goyle employed his fire spells to melt a clear path. The lake had frozen solid, and the snow-covered hill beckoned all the students, who were waiting for the weekend.

The roaring fires in both the Slytherin common room and their individual dormitories made the House a cozy haven of light and warmth. Elsewhere, only the Great Hall was remotely comfortable. In the rest of the draughty castle, the corridors were ice-cold, and the bitter wind constantly rattled the classroom windows. It was just as well the dorm had a stove, otherwise it would have been unbearable.

00O00

"You must come with me for the hols, I've told mum so much about you," said Sadie, smiling at him with the lips of her green mask. She leaned close so that her purple hair tickled his cheek; "your mother should come too. Mum knows about her and she's welcome."

"Great! We'd love that," said Harry.

Hedwig flew into the Great Hall and dropped a letter onto the table.

Dear Harry,

We hope your school year is going well. We cordially invite you to join us for the Solstice Eve celebration at Malfoy Manor.

Best wishes,

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy

Ah… could this be awkward? He showed Sadie the letter and she gazed at it through the eye holes in her mask. Her disfigured green face stretched slowly to form a smile. "Well that's kind of them. Um… you could do both if you wanted, Harry. Go to the Malfoy Solstice Eve celebration and stay the rest of the hols with us. Cora can stay with us the entire break if Dumbledore lets her." She flicked a strand of purple hair away from her green mask. "He should let her."

00O00

"I do feel so sorry," Weasley said loudly as he walked past the Slytherin table the next morning at breakfast, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts because they aren't wanted at home."

"What are you driveling about, Weasley?" said Draco in that drawl he reserved for Gryffindors. "Potter gets to visit Malfoy Manor. Something you can only dream of."

Weasley had been even more irritating since the Quidditch match. He'd been disgusted that Gryffindor had lost so stunningly and were still in third place for the cup, and had tried to make people laugh by saying that a wide-mouthed toad would soon be replacing Harry as Seeker. This made no one laugh except himself, because everyone was impressed with the way that Harry had managed to stay on his out-of-control broomstick. Jealous and bitter, now Weasley couldn't find anything to taunt Harry about.

In the Potions dungeon, the Gryffindors arrived, Professor Snape came out of his office, and the lesson began. They set to work on the Hair-Raising Potion.

"How long must the rat tails simmer in the potion?" demanded Snape.

Sadie, Theo and Hermione Granger bounced up and down on her seat jerking her hand up in the air.

Snape ignored Hermione. "McIntyre!"

"One hour, Sir."

"Correct."

Hermione looked disappointed. Sadie gave her a small smile with the lips of her mask, but she just gazed dolefully back.

Sadie had come on in Potions much more than Harry had. She had an affinity for the subject. It was part of her interest in magical experiments and her desire to be some kind of Dark Healer.

Longbottom and Weasley were at a bench together. The pair had worked in tandem ever since the other Gryffindors had realized that they were both hopelessly inept at Potions and that the rest of them stood a better chance of earning good marks by not being anywhere near either one of them. They lost Gryffindor many points, but that would have happened regardless.

Hermione started trying to give them instructions she thought were helpful. "You're stirring it all wrong, Ron…"

"Shut up, you living nightmare with no friends. Can't you see no one in Gryffindor or Slytherin can stand you?"

Hermione stood stunned for a second, her eyes tearing up. Harry felt sorry for her, annoying as she was. It wasn't surprising she had no friends, especially in Gryffindor where they weren't interested in studying.

Crabbe and Draco sniggered.

"Oooh, what a burn!" said Crabbe. "No one disagrees with that."

Sadie hurried over to the Gryffindor girl, her purple hair swishing behind her, and patted Hermione on the arm. "Hang in there, honey" she said softly. "He's just a mean boy."

Hermione sniffed and nodded, her bottom lip still quivering.

"What would you know about it, you hideous, self-mutilated freak?" Demanded Weasley. "Get yourself a new face." The other nine Slytherins raised their wands at that, but Snape gave them a cold glare and they desisted.

"Weasley, for your constant ill behaviour in my class despite warnings, you now lose Gryffindor twenty points and earn yourself the last detention I am giving this term. Quite a distinction. Normally I show first years leniency."

The Gryffindors all scowled at Weasley. Even Neville looked annoyed. Sadie went back to Harry's bench. Her green mask of a face was impassive, but Harry kissed her lightly on the cheek anyway to comfort her.

00O00

When they went up to dinner, the Great Hall looked fantastic. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and a full dozen Christmas trees stood around the room. Some of the trees sparkled with tiny icicles; others glittered with hundreds of candles. Another tree was decorated with thousands of golden bubbles.

"Wizards are creative with holiday decorations," Harry said as they sat down.

He looked up as a fluttering caught his attention and gave a smile at the sight of multi-coloured butterflies floating about his head, flying in swirling patterns. He rose a hand to catch one, but his hand passed through it, leaving behind a tingling sensation.

"I didn't cast that," Pansy replied, blowing a large bubble of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. It cracked loudly and a bright blue bubble floated off towards the ceiling. "Sadie's parlour tricks are working now. Aren't they, darling?"

Sadie's green face stretched into a grin. "Why thank you. Perhaps I should start charging for them?" She winked.

Draco snorted. "So, Sadie, want to explain why you'd stand up for Granger?"

"Because the poor thing doesn't have any friends to stand up for her. She really has no idea how she comes across... So sad." Sadie sighed.

"Yeah, Draco, a little consideration for others isn't a bad thing. Even if it's for a Gryffindor," said Harry, sticking out his tongue at Draco. Draco playfully poked him.

That night, Harry was again woken by nightmares. Images of flashing green lights and high, cold laughter... The dark of the dorm room felt cloying, and the drapes of his bed reminded him of walls bearing down on him. Discomforted, Harry slipped on a robe and his shoes, making his way out into the Common Room.

Normally, the room had a fire going and at least one or two students to liven it up. When empty and dark, the furniture seemed to take on a tall, gloomy feel, like rows of ominous, judging figures. Shadows danced around, disturbed by the eerie light coming from the windows to the lake, and dark shapes darted past.

Harry wanted his mother. He had to look for her. He dashed out of the passageway and into the hallway, making his way up the various stairs. He took less used paths, and kept to areas where he could duck away behind objects or into a dark corner, but as time went he began to feel more confident about his ability to get around unnoticed. After all, there were only a few members of the faculty, and this castle was huge.

Unsure where to go, Harry peeked into an empty classroom. Was his mother here?

The room wasn't empty, however. Standing in the centre of the room, lightly reflecting the pale moonlight filtering in from the windows, was a full-length mirror. Curious, Harry walked up to it, eyes idly tracing his reflection.

He gave a little start. He saw a crowd of people in the mirror. He saw his mother beaming at him, with her green arms around his reflection… And Sadie. Sadie's green face was alight with happiness as well. And there were Harry's other friends from Slytherin crowded around them. Somewhere in the distance, Quirrell was being led away… defeated at last. Of course it had to be him who was the villain. Harry didn't want it to be Snape.

Draco and Tracy made their way to the front to stand on either side of Cora. Every single one of them was smiling and waving. At him.

Harry waved weakly back, and raised one hand to wipe at the tears. Reflection-Draco rolled his eyes and punched Reflection-Harry's shoulder playful, though the real one couldn't feel a thing. His mum's arms wrapped tighter around him and Sadie. Harry couldn't wait for the three of them to be together.

A part of him wanted to rush back to the dorms, shake his friends awake, and drag them up to see this. Another much louder part of him wanted to stay right here and never move again. That part won out. After all, they wouldn't thank him for waking them up at such a miserable hour, would they?

Settling down in front of the mirror, arms wrapped around his legs

Harry had no idea how long he sat there, staring, before he was jerked out of his stupor by a noise behind him. By that point the first rays of dawn were making their way out through the window. The boy spun, irrationally furious at whoever had woken him up, and found Snape standing there, eyes wide as he took in the small form on the floor.

Before he'd even thought the action through, Harry was on his feet. "Sir?"

Snape ignored his words, making his way around the room until he could see the mirror's reflection, and Harry wondered if he could see his family too. "Indulge me for a moment, Mr. Potter." Snape's voice was the quietest Harry had ever heard it, and felt almost...cleaner. Like it had been stripped of something dark and festering. "What do you see?"

Vaguely wondering if he'd fallen asleep and this was a dream, Harry glanced back at the mirror.. "I see my mother and my friends." The urge to add a 'sir' at the end hit him, but Harry resisted. Somehow he felt that would break the strange atmosphere between them.

A broken, bubbling noise made its way from Snape's mouth, and Harry realized with a lurch that it was supposed to be a laugh. A very bitter, sad laugh, that had rotted and died somewhere dark long ago. "You are wiser than I was at your age." Snape came up so he was standing in front of the mirror. "Do you know what this does?"

Harry gulped, and gave a little half-shrug. "It shows us people we love?" He ventured. After all, Harry knew he was seeing was exactly who he loved.

"Close." The professor replied, and his hand came up as Harry's had earlier, and like his only met glass. That seemed nearly enough for the Potions Professor, though, and the barest ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "It shows us our very deepest desires. The things we want more than anything else."

"May I ask who you see, Sir?"

The professor didn't respond, but he had no reason to. Instead he dropped his hand and took a step back. Finally, the formidable professor turned to look at the boy. His eyes were, for the first time in recent memory, soft and nearly warm. Some little part of Harry thought that the change made Snape seem much less like the scary, bat-like man he knew... "Many men and women, magic and muggle, have gone mad watching this mirror, Mr. Potter. Let's go." He placed on large hand on Harry's back and gently led the slightly reluctant boy out of the room.

Poor Snape. Had he lost someone he loved? Well Harry no longer suspected him of foul play in the Quidditch match. Quirrell must be the villain.


	13. Holidays, Half-Giants and Hags

Harry told his friends about the Mirror of Erised the next morning.

"Snape says it can drive you mad? Cool!" said Theo.

"You wouldn't need it," said Draco, sticking out his tongue.

They started playfully prodding each other.

"If you were feeling bad last night, I wish you'd come to me," said Sadie, folding her skinny arms. "Wondering around the castle in the middle of the night is dangerous. You know that."

"Our dorm is boobytrapped, darling," said Tracy, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Remember the founders and their silly rule."

The lips of Sadie's green mask formed a wry smile. "Thanks dear, yeah, I remember. Boys can't come into our dorm. That kind of double standard is silly in the magical world though – witches date raping muggles and wizards is not even uncommon."

"You going to lecture us about Dark Magic and double standards and stuff, Sadie?" said Pansy sticking out her tongue.

Sadie blew her a kiss. "No, I'm gonna get you alone and lecture you, Pansy." She slipped her arm in Harry's. "Seriously though, Harry. You know how I feel about you going on these midnight adventures."

"But it wasn't pointless," said Harry. "I – I know Snape is innocent now. He lost someone he loved. He could see them in the mirror. He was so sad."

Sadie gazed at Harry through the eyeholes in her mask. "Aww. Poor guy. I never knew. Wish I could hug him."

"He could've just been faking, you know," said Draco annoyingly. "It's not like no one's ever faked seeing stuff in a mirror."

"Draco's a dreary old cynic's head on young shoulders," said Nott, poking Draco.

00O00

Sadie and Harry paid Cora a visit in one of the empty bathrooms she was cleaning on the first floor.

The candles cast a shimmering light on the wet surfaces and the green faces of Harry's mother and friend. Sadie smiled at the hag. "Cora – my mother and I would like it very much if you'd stay with us for Christmas. Both you and Harry."

"Ooh, sweetie, that's so nice," said the hag, grinning from ear to ear. "I just know your mother is an amazing person too. I can't wait." She put her arms around both of them at once. So far, so good. The problem as to whom Harry would spend the holiday with and when seemed to have sorted itself out.

Hand in hand, the kids walked back to the Slytherin common room. As they past a girl's toilet, they heard the sound of whimpering inside. They stopped.

"Are you OK in there?" called Sadie.

"No. Leave me alone." It was Hermione Granger's voice. She did sound upset. Harry followed Sadie into the tiled room. This one was also lit by candles, but they were burning low.

The flickering light shone off Sadie's green nose and cheeks. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

Hermione was sitting on a little wooden bench near the sinks. She had obviously been crying. Her hair was even messier than usual and her cheeks were stained with tears. She glared at them. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Sadie sat down beside her. Hermione put a hand over her eyes, but Sadie took hold of her arm in both her small arms and tugged it away. "Tell me what's wrong."

Sadie certainly believed in being direct. Harry hovered there. Draco probably wouldn't approve…

Hermione looked down slightly into the blue eyes of the shorter girl. Sadie gazed at her steadily through the eyeholes in her green mask.

"I – You wouldn't understand – I hate it here!" said Hermione in a rush. "I thought I would finally belong and have friends for the first time in my life, but no one likes me here. No one likes me anywhere." She choked and fresh tears came to her eyes.

Sadie cupped Hermione's face in both her hands. "That sucks. No wonder you're upset."

Harry sat down on Hermione's other side. He hesitantly patted her shoulder. "Yeah."

"Watch this," said Sadie. She raised her wand in the air and a stream of rainbow lights issued forth, forming a cloud of multi-coloured butterflies.

Hermione sniffed and smiled. "That's quite good. I mean, very good," she amended hastily.

Harry was feeling a bit awkward and hoped Sadie could handle things.

The green faced girl brushed her purple hair away from her eyes. "I wish I could help."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Why? You're in Slytherin."

That was a silly thing to say. Sadie's features moved weirdly beneath her mask to form an annoyed expression. "And I'm the one who wants to help, so don't be stupid." She breathed through her nose, then touched Hermione's cheek. "Can't you see we want to listen."

"You're both too nice to be in Slytherin," said Hermione, hiccoughing. "I – I mean… not that Slytherin is worse than Gryffindor… that is, Ron Weasley is so mean to me. You've seen it before."

"Oh we know what he's like. Don't we just?" said Harry.

Hermione turned to him and smiled.

"I hadn't had friends my own age before coming to Hogwarts," said Harry. "But it's been wonderful here."

"Lucky," said Hermione with a sigh. "Ron's right. I think I am a nightmare and that's why no one like me."

"Don't believe his mean lies," said Sadie. "Haven't you talked to Professor McGonagall about him?"

"Wouldn't do any good. What if he found out I'm a snitch? The Weasleys are scary, especially the twins."

"True. I suppose no one dares taunt them about the twins having jumpers with their initials," said Harry. "Not even in the house of the brave. No one says stuff like, 'your mum squeezed out such a huge litter, she can't tell you apart.'"

"No…" Hermione pushed her mane of bushy hair away from her face. "It's not just the Weasleys. I don't belong anywhere. Everyone would be happier if I wasn't at Hogwarts. If I wasn't in the magical world… If I wasn't in the muggle world. If I wasn't anywhere."

"Don't talk like that," said Sadie, agitated. "There is stuff we can do."

"Thanks, you're sweet," said Hermione. She leaned down and kissed Sadie's shiny green nose. "I feel better now I know two sweet Slytherins."

"I wonder why there's no class for muggleborns to it in," said Harry. "That would be useful. It could only help."

"Yeah. There definitely should be," said Sadie, stroking her green cheek pensively. "Really, Dumbledore doesn't know how to run a school. I could teach you stuff, Hermione. In fact, I will. I'm gonna write a list of useful things and get it to you before we break up, Okay? Stuff about etiquette that we purebloods know."

"You are very kind, truly," said Hermione. "But, no offence… I still wouldn't prefer to be in Slytherin. That Malfoy…"

"He's not so bad if you get to know him," said Harry truthfully.

"And then there's that Crabbe. Don't deny he's as bad as Ron."

"Mmm," said Harry uncomfortably. She might be right about Crabbe. "Enough of that. Be positive."

"Yes, don't backbite. And think of the solution, not the problem," said Sadie.

"There's a pureblood coined phrase," said Harry. He and Sadie reached round Hermione and gave each other high five.

00O00

Harry and Sadie had resolved to befriend Hagrid. Millie had come along once, but the Slytherins were mostly scornful of the idea. So the two of them trudged through the snow to Hagrid's cabin. Harry had to help Sadie, because the snow was so deep it reached up to the small girl's waist.

Harry knocked on the door and they were greeted by the booming barks of Fang the boarhound. "Alrigh' I'm comin'." Hagrid unbolted the door. "Come in, come in."

In the cabin, Fang bounded up to Sadie and licked her mask, almost knocking her over in the process.

"Hi Fang. Good to see you too," said Sadie.

Hagrid's cabin was one room. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt on it.

Hagrid had a plate of cakes, but they'd already experienced that he was a terrible cook, so politely declined. Sadie smiled at the half-giant with the lips of her mask. "So Hagrid… it's cool that Dumbledore trusts you enough to help guard a valuable artefact. Who else would he trust so much? I honestly can't think of anyone."

Hagrid puffed up visibly. "Well, some of the teachers are helpin' ter keep in safe. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, naturally. Dumbledore himself did something of course. That's the mos' important. An' then there's Quirrell and Snape."

"Hmm." Sadie cupped her green face in her little hands. "You really don't think Quirrell could be lying? I know Dumbledore's brilliant, but could Quirrell fool him?"

"Not still on about that, are yer? Listen, Quirrell couldn' fool the likes of Dumbledore."

"I suppose not…" said Sadie, rubbing her shiny green nose. "Quirrell doesn't come across as that smart."

"Quirrell comes across as an idiot," said Harry, remembering that day in the Leaky Cauldron when Quirrell acted like he was scared of Harry's mother.

His friend ran her fingers through her purple hair. "So, what's really going on?"

After that, Sadie gave that topic a rest and steered the conversation to dragons. It turned out Hagrid had a personal interest in them.

"That's amazing, what you say about dragon poop having different magical properties depending on its diet," said Sadie, gazing up at Hagrid through the eyeholes in her green mask. "And that dragon poop from dragons who ate magical people is for dark spells. Give yourself credit where it's due. You know your stuff where it's important." She scratched behind Fang's ear. "Like with dragons."

Hagrid's beard bristled with pride. "Thank ee, Sadie, yer clearly a great gel. Yer in the wrong house."

The light off the setting sun streaming in through the window lit up Sadie's green face framed by purple hair and shone off her green nose. "No, I'm not. Listen, Hagrid… Draco Malfoy loves dragons too. He knows stuff about them. He'd be able to tell the difference between a Hungarian Horntail and a Norwegian ridgeback."

"Tha' a fact?" said Hagrid. "Well a boy who knows about dragons can' be all bad."

When it was time to leave, Harry decided to leave the goodbyes to Sadie.

"Thank you so much. Your house is so charming," she said, shaking his huge, banana sized finger in her little hand.

"Come again," said Hagrid as they left.

On the way back to the castle, they trudged through the snow, arms linked, laden with rockcakes they had been too polite to refuse. Sadie pondered what they had found out. "Quirrell helped guard this artefact. Whatever it is. So he would be in a really good position to steal it. Wish I knew what it was. Finding Flamel will be the key."

"Hagrid certainly likes dragons," said Harry. "Why'd you want to know so much about their poop?"

She smiled with the lips of her mask. "Well, dragon poop is a poison, and you have to know about poisons to know about antidotes."

00O00

The two of them were due to travel by Floo to Sadie's House. Harry had never travelled this way before. They were in a queue in the Great Hall. Individual students and groups of students had to leave at the appointed times.

"Just hold my hand, dear," said Sadie.

With her small hand in his, they stepped into the fireplace. The fire now felt like a warm breeze. "Hillside House!" said Sadie. Harry had the sensation of being whirled around in a vortex of blurred fireplaces, soot and ash, until finally they came stumbling out of another fireplace. They were greeted by a witch with long, red hair. Sadie's mother, Jamie.

She hugged and kissed them each in turn. "So good to see you, Harry so good." She had a bold, freckled face.

She held Sadie tight to her and her daughter laid her green cheek against her chest. "Oh, Sadie, how could you do this to yourself? You were such a pretty little thing."

Sadie sniffed. "I know! I used to have freckles. I actually miss having freckles. But I have to push boundaries to be the greatest healer ever, mum. I'm bound to fail sometimes."

"I know," Jamie kissed the top of her purple head. "Now I have to go back to St Mungo's in an hour. Cora should be here soon, by Floo. Sadie darling, why don't you show Harry your room?"

Sadie's room was weird. Like a little potion lab, but with just one wooden bench with a tiny purple cauldron and rack for jars. There was a tank in the corner, for Paddock, Sadie's toad.

She lifted the toad in both her little hands and kissed his warty head. "Back again, Paddock." She put the amphibian in the tank then sat down on her bed and grinned at Harry, patting the duvet beside her for him to sit down next to her.

Sadie had a wireless set. Witches and wizards are old fashioned, so they still use wireless. Harry and Cora had lived very simply, so they hadn't even had a wireless in her cave.

Sadie switched on the Polyjuice Program – something like the muggle TV show Dead Ringers, that makes fun of politicians and celebrities. There was a comedian mimicking Cornelius Fudge being interviewed by a reporter. This is how his sketch went:

Fudge: I've been left a difficult legacy for my second year in office, you know.

Interviewer: Are you still referring to Millicent Bagnold's legacy?

Fudge: No, my own legacy from my first year in office has left me with a difficult legacy in my second year.

Sadie chuckled.

Harry was fascinated by the wireless set. "Cool. Never seen one of these."

Sadie gazed at him and rubbed her green cheek. "Would you say you really want one?"

"Sure."

They shared a cup of nachos and melted cheese and started messing about, nibbling on the same nacho.

"I got more than you," said Harry.

Sadie's shiny green nose crinkled as she smiled. "Didn't know it was a contest."

"Well you don't see the point of Quidditch. I think I'm the one who gets contests. Hang on…" she'd got some warm cheese stuck on her mask and probably couldn't feel it there. He wiped it off her nose and mouth for her. "There. Perfect." She gazed at him with unblinking blue eyes. Her staring expression could be disconcerting sometimes.

Next, Sadie wanted to show him one of her experiments. He couldn't very well refuse. "See, Harry… I'll extract an insane amount of toxin from this mushroom, mix it with different catalysts and use it to invent a brand new Revitalising Draught with Dark Energy. It'll cure most illnesses." She stuck a syringe into a pink mushroom on her workbench and then poured a glowing pink liquid from the syringe into a bowl. Then she snapped her fingers. "Paddock. Please help Mummy."

The toad lolloped onto the table. Some glutinous green poison leaked from the wards in its back, and Sadie scraped it off with a little brush and trickled it into the bowl. Gross.

"Now firewater and brimstone." Sadie poured a bottle of pungent smelling liquid into her concoction and adding brimstone. At that moment, the toad leapt into the bowl and there was a pink and purple flash followed by the reek of sulphur…

The kids staggered back. "Oh oh…" said Sadie, putting her hands to her mouth.

Paddock leapt out of the bowl and blew a gout of flame from his gaping mouth.

Sadie reached to grab him, but Harry grabbed her. "Don't be stupid."

The toad blew another gout of flame. "Paddock…" said Sadie, "It's alright, Mummy's here."

But the fire-breathing toad leapt from the bench and lolloped off out of the room.

"Your experiment's a failure," Harry observed.

"My little Paddock must be scared," said Sadie, wriggling free of Harry's grip and scampering onto the landing, her purple hair streaming behind her.

Harry sighed and followed her down the stairs as she pursued her toad, which was hopping along and breathing gouts of flame.

"Sadie… you do realise you've lectured me about doing stupid, dangerous things."

"My little Paddock's not dangerous," she said, turning to him and wrinkling her shiny green nose.

Paddock leapt onto the mantelpiece above the fireplace and blew a gout of flame, singeing the ends of Sadie's long purple hair.

Jamie swept into the hallway. "What's going on? Sadie, are you performing some crazy experiment?"

Paddock took a flying leap onto the table near Jamie.

"No! Paddock, stop!" Her eyes staring wildly through the holes in her mask, Sadie flung herself forward and grabbed the toad and snatched it away before it could breathe flame at her mother.

At that moment, the flames in the fireplace flared and the silhouette of a woman appeared. Then Cora strode from the fireplace, brushing ash from her long red hair.

"Hello, darlings! Thank you so much for the invitation. Why, what's going on?"

Paddock slipped through Sadie's fingers while she was distracted by the hag and leapt across to the green skinned woman. Cora glared at it. "Stop, magic toadie. Don't you dare attack me."

Her words sounded different from her normal voice somehow, but Harry could understand them. Sadie and Jamie stared. Paddock flopped onto the stone floor, docile now. Cora picked him up in her green hands. "There, there, I won't hurt you."

There was a silence. "It's alright," said Harry. "Mum just told Paddock to not attack her."

Sadie gazed at him with wide blue eyes. "You're a Parselmouth, Harry? You can talk to snakes and toads like hags can? Not many wizards can do that. But it's what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. There's a legend that he persuaded a toad to hatch a chicken egg to create a basilisk. Wish I had some basilisk venom to experiment on."

"Didn't know it was that unusual," said Harry.

"Of course my boy is special," tutted Cora.

"Now, Sadie, if you can't be sensible, I won't bring you with me on my volunteer work at Christmas. You won't be allowed to heal sick Muggle kids this year."

"Oh, please don't be angry, mum," said Sadie. She looked at the floor and her dark green bottom lip stuck out. The smell of her singed hair was overpowering. "I love helping you..."

She looked so forlorn that Cora and Harry both moved to hug her.

"Alright, but you're on your last warning," said Jamie.

Time passed very pleasantly with Sadie and Cora, but Jamie was nearly always busy in her work as a Healer. The time to visit Malfoy Manor was drawing near. Sadie was invited too, but the Malfoys did not of course know about Cora. The hag put her arms around both Slytherin kids. "Enjoy your visit." Was that a tear in her eye? Harry supposed she wished she could come with them. They both kissed her on the cheek and then stepped into the fireplace to travel by Floor to Malfoy Manor.

Harry wobbled on his feet, feeling faintly sick as he emerged from the fireplace, and smoothed a hand down his front to make sure he was all there. He really didn't like floor travelling.

"Are you OK, dear?" asked Sadie, peering anxiously into his eyes.

"Fine," said Harry.

His eyes darted around the room and he let out slow breaths at how opulent things were.

"Isn't it grand?" said Sadie with a grin.

There was a pop and Harry jerked back in surprise at the sight of a large-eyed, short creature with long fingers and drooping ears. The thing bowed politely and introduced itself as Dobby, the Malfoy's main house elf. Harry had never seen a house elf before, and was torn between poking Dobby to make sure he wasn't an illusion and flinching away in disgust. He must have given a little start, because Sadie laid a calming hand on his arm. Dobby gave a weird cry and leapt into the air.

"Harry Potter, Sir!"

Draco came strolling into the hall, the crystal chandelier lighting shining off his white blond hair.

"Take their coats, Dobby." He aimed a kick at the elf.

"Draco, please treat him gently!" said Sadie.

Draco shrugged and desisted.

Dobby took their coats. "Thank you!" Sadie beamed at the strange creature, which just disappeared with another pop.

"OK, I'll show you both the guest room."

Draco tugged lightly on Harry's arm and they followed Draco. Harry's eyes roamed over the walls at the various pictures and paintings on the wall.

"Watch out for the -"

"Ouch!"

"-false step."

"Oh dear, let me help." Sadie helped Harry free his foot from the false step and rubbed his shin for him.

Harry glared at Draco. "A little more forewarning would have been nice."

Draco shrugged and continued up the stairs, the other two following quickly behind. They got off on the second floor, above the "extra drawing rooms, the library and Father's study". Draco swept down a winding hall before pausing in front of a door. He knocked on the door twice and then turned the knob, pulled the door towards him before pushing in. The door swung open and Draco stepped inside and they followed.

The room, which judging by the shining placard on the dark wood door was Draco's, was not what Harry expected for Draco's personal room. Instead of deep, dark colours, it was a pleasant shade of reddish brown, slightly lighter than a rust colour. The borders along the floor-line were taupe while the moulding on the ceiling was eggshell white. Together they made the room look homey, and gave it a comforting atmosphere, something soothing that seemed unlike Draco.

Various posters lined the walls, the same group of people were on several posters. From the state of them, they looked to be a musical band, Harry approached the poster closest to him, watching as one witch, who was sprawled on a couch scratched his nose. The name of the group - Weird Sisters - was shimmering above their heads.

Above the bed was a poster for Quidditch, a chaser for the team was zooming around on his broom. Harry moved to look at the team name, he twisted his head and peered up. Vestra Vultures was a sleek black at the very bottom.

"Where're they from?"

"Bulgaria. They play hard. No holds barred. Not like Puddlemere, who believe in morality and integrity so much it costs them games."

"Puddlemere sound like a great team," said Sadie smiling with the lips of her mask.

"You would think that," said Draco, rolling his eyes. "Shows what you know about Quidditch."

"I've never seen professional Quidditch before," said Harry.

"We should go sometime. Alright, let's get you to the guest room."

They exited Draco's room and entered the guest room. It was cool grey with hard black borders that popped. It was sparsely decorated with modest, tasteful furniture, a large, oval shaped standing mirror in one corner and several paintings of rural scenes. Harry smiled softly, the room was larger than the boys dorm, and all just for him and Sadie. The beds looked soft, so soft he could sink into them. Harry had to fight the childish urge to fling his things aside and leap on it with a cry.

Sadie clapped her hands together. "This looks wonderful, Draco. Thank you so much for inviting us."

"Well... I'll leave you to it." Draco left them alone.

Harry watched the door for a long moment before winking at Sadie and running for the bed. He leaped and landed on it with a laugh, practically swimming in the bedding that collapsed on top of him with the force of his impact. Rolling onto his back, Harry grinned up at the ceiling.

Sadie's mask of a face split in a wide, watermelon grin and she ran up and hopped onto the bed as well.

"I just have to fall asleep now, with a bed like this" said Harry, smirking. "Forget what else we had planned."

She leaned her green mask close to him. "Really?"

"No. Gotcha!" He sat up and grabbed his friend, tickling her mercilessly and making her scream with laughter, flailing her skinny arms. After she'd calmed down, she kneeled on his lap and gripped his shoulders with her little hands. They sat, noses almost touching, breathing heavily.

"What a place. I could get used to this," said Harry. "I used to live in a cave in the sewers and I thought Hogwarts was luxury. But it's nothing like Malfoy Manor. I want to spend Christmas here."

"Spend Christmas here? What about with Cora? And don't you wanna come help with our volunteer work?"

Harry wondered… what should he do? Spend Christmas at Malfoy Manor in the greatest luxury in magical Britain, or with Cora, so they could take part in Sadie's charitable work?


	14. Magic of Malfoy Manor

Harry's sleep was troubled by dreams. Quirrell loomed over him, his eyes glowing scarlet. Then there was a flash of green light and a high, cold, cruel laugh. Harry awoke, sweating. He wanted his mother and was about to call, but then realised he was in Malfoy Manor. He slipped out of the luxurious bed. The moonlight streamed through the diamond paned windows. He went over to Sadie's bed. The moonlight shone off her green nose and forehead and the eyeholes in her mask were shut.

He shook her gently. "Sadie."

She murmured, but didn't wake. He shook her again. "Sadie?"

Her eyes snapped open? "You OK, Harry?"

"I had a nightmare. The Avada Kedavra nightmare. Can't sleep."

"Aw. Hop in."

He slipped into her warm bed and she wrapped her little thin arms around him. "S'alright. I'm here," she mumbled.

He hugged her very tight and she made a squeaky noise and wriggled. Oops. He'd forgotten. She wasn't as physically strong as his mother. He shouldn't hug her with all his strength, just some of it. Her cold, plastic cheek rested against his. He felt better with her there. The rest of his sleep passed without dreams.

The next morning, Harry woke bright and early, still used to the Hogwarts schedule. Part of him wanted to roll over and luxuriate in a world where he could sleep in, but another part of him was vibrating with energy, even this early in the morning.

A distorted green face loomed close to him.

"Morning, dear. I thought you might like something to eat."

It was Sadie. She brushed the cold lips of her green mask against his cheek and then thrust a tray with tea, porridge and honey at him. She was already up and bathed and had even done her hair dying routine. He could smell the pungent reek of whatever magical dye she used emanating from the en-suite bathroom.

He smiled at her. "Thanks. Isn't it great here? Isn't this the life? How rich are the Malfoys?"

She sat on the side of his bed. "They're the richest magical people in Britain. Lucius is the titular owner now and his assets are $1.3 billion dollars in Muggle money. The Muggles are most obsessed with the US dollar. The dollar is about 2/3 of a pound sterling. The magical economy is parasitic on the Muggle economy, so really their money is what we use. It's something like five pounds to the Galleon."

"The Galleons aren't real gold then?"

"Nah, they're just gold coloured. They're fiat currency."

He stuck out his tongue at her. "Fiat currency? You're trying to sound like Tracy."

She smiled at him with the lips of her mask.

He spooned away the porridge and swallowed the tea. After he had finished, she took the tray away.

"Don't you want to spend Christmas here, Sadie?"

She sat herself down on the bed. "Certainly not. I'm only here for the Solstice – tonight. Christmas is special. I look forward to helping Mum heal the sick Muggles. It's the one day of the year that there's a loophole in the stupid secrecy law. And it's when I get to do stuff with her. That's important." She said the last two words in an oddly pointed way.

"I bet Draco would say luxury is important too," said Harry.

"Look at me." She sounded serious. He looked through the eyeholes in her mask into her blue eyes. "Your mum was looking forward to spending Christmas Day with you. She said she was saving up all her money for it."

"Good point, but I'm afraid I'll still have to clear it with Draco," he said in a mischievous tone.

She gave a half-exasperated laugh. "Shall I tickle some sense into you?"

He stuck out his tongue. "Don't care what you say. I just wanna spend Christmas in luxury!"

"Right, that's it." She put her small arms around him and tickled his sides.

"That's not how to tickle, Sadie. This is how you do it." He grabbed her and tickled her so that she screamed with mad laughter again.

"Stop! Gerroff!" She kicked her arms and legs wildly until he stopped.

He let her push him onto the bed and wrap her arms and legs around him. She was breathing hard on his face and her purple hair was all dishevelled and spilling onto his face. Her eyes gleamed through the holes in her mask. "You'd really do what Draco tells you, you naughty boy?"

"No."

"Good." She touched her finger to his nose.

"I'll send an owl to ask Crabbe, and then that Ron Weasley, what they both think."

Her tiny body shook with laughter. "I never thought you could be that dumb. I'm not letting you up if you don't wise up."

Her laughter was infectious. "I surrender. I'll trust you instead of my good buddy, Ron Weasley"

"Better."

She rubbed her cold, plastic nose against his. They gazed into each other's eyes. "Love you," he blurted out suddenly.

"I love you, too."

Draco barged in at that moment.

"Morning, Draco?" said Sadie, grinning and waving with one hand while keeping Harry pinned down with the other.

Draco stared nonplussed. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"Sadie was lecturing me, and things escalated," said Harry gravely.

Sadie kissed Harry's forehead. "I'd just got him his breakfast too."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Why? That's what the house-elves are for."

"Cos I wanted to do it, that's why," said Sadie, releasing Harry's other arm.

Harry wrapped his arms around her and sat up. "Yeah, Draco. Would you make the house-elves wrap your presents for you?"

Draco scoffed. "You don't listen at all, do you? The house-elves do everything menial. Get yourself moving and we can see more of the Manor before breakfast. We can't be late, though. Father would be annoyed."

00O00

When Harry had washed and dressed, the three of them ran around the upper levels of Malfoy Manor. Draco was practically vibrating with excitement over being able to share the home he loved with friends, which was probably the reason he was up such an early bird this morning. Harry was fascinated by all the interesting rooms the Malfoys had. There was one with old, medieval tapestries and objects, kept looking new by charms. Another led to what appeared to be an indoor garden, under a glass dome.

Sadie pointed at what looked like a massive, purple Venus flytrap plant. "You've got a Hecate gripper plant growing here, Draco? That is so cool." Her blue eyes shone through the holes in her mask. "Wish I could experiment on its venom. Bet it has all kinds of magical properties."

"I suppose it does," said Draco. "We've got the only domesticated one in England."

There was a pair of comfy looking benches for sitting around and enjoying the view. Fairy lights dashed about, ducking and weaving within the bushes and flowers. Sadie's masked face stretched into a grin as a fairy flitted around her head.

The biggest hit was probably the library. Draco, knowing their passions, showed Harry a section on the strategy of Quidditch, and Sadie a section on controversial Healing. Harry browsed the titles excitedly. "Cool. The Evolution of Quidditch. I bet this'll give a history of the different moves."

"Even cooler… Stopping Death At All Costs – Modern Medean Magic." Sadie ran her dainty hands over the leather of the large volume. "I soo want this. I even call it 'MMM' for short. You're so lucky you get to read mmm, Draco." Her voice was so wistful. She actually pronounced the title, 'mmm,' as if in anticipation of something tasty.

"Oh please, who cares about such creepy stuff?" said Draco.

Sadie's face moved weirdly underneath her mask as she pouted as best she still could despite her disfigurement. "Not creepy. Open your mind a little. There are cases where it's in the patient's best interest to replace a lot of organs all at once."

Harry glanced at the Potions section. "A copy of Advancements in Potion Filtration! From the way Professor Snape talked about this, he would kill to read it."

"That would be unnecessary, considering that he already has." Lucius Malfoy's voice told him, and the trio whirled round to see him watching them through the library's open door. "That very copy, in fact." His cold eyes lingered on Harry. "Breakfast will be ready shortly. Take care not to be late." With that he swept down the hall.

Harry glanced at Draco, who puffed up his chest. "Mother and Father realize the importance of keeping up proper manners, even at home. A mask that never once slips."

"Ouch," said Sadie, touching her own mask.

Draco shrugged and grinned. "That's what they say, anyway. Let's get going. I'd leave that book here. It'd just get dirty at the table." Harry nodded they all followed Mr. Malfoy down to the dining room.

They washed their hands before sitting down to breakfast, which was served at a large table, but they sat together at a grouping near the head. Narcissa was sipping from a delicate mug, and from the scent, it was strong coffee and not tea. She was dressed languidly, still in her nightdress, which was very elegant indeed. Her hair was smoothed back from her face and piled on top of her head, kept in place with a series of pins and curlers and further secured with a snood. While Harry was sure there were charms that could be done to fix hair, he was pretty sure Narcissa liked the put together look of doing it herself.

Lucius sat at the head of the table, Narcissa was off to his right and the kids sat side by side at his left. Unlike his wife Lucius was dressed in a fine pressed suit, with shining buttons, his long hair was fastened back in a simple black silk ribbon. One of the strange little house-elves appeared along with a partner, the two handed off their plates to respective people at the table. Harry took his with a gracious smile and set it down in front of him.

Each person's plate was arranged with different foods. Draco's, for instance, was fitted with black pudding, over-medium eggs (the only type Draco would eat), tomato, and toast. Narcissa had eggs Benedict atop crumpets with smoked salmon and potato. Lucius had the simplest, a side of toast, fresh fruit, and cereal, along with piping hot, strong dark coffee. Harry, however, had hot cakes with strawberries and treacle. How they knew his favourite breakfast was beyond him, but it was served along with orange juice and Earl Grey, the perfect mix.

Sadie just had milky porridge with fruit. She took care to wipe her mask regularly with a napkin. She could not feel if anything was stuck to it.

"Do you have to go to the Ministry today?" Asked Draco.

Lucius shook his head lightly, stirring in some fruit to his cereal and taking a bite. "St. Mungos."

"Mum will be there. Very busy. Like always." Sadie gave a little sigh.

Draco nodded his head and took a bite of his black pudding and a sip of his orange pekoe. He shifted in place, dressed down from his usual robes, and dress clothes in a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt. He looked far younger than his usual self, even his hair was messily styled.

Breakfast was eaten mostly in silence, save for the occasional talk about school, or what they were going to do about the holidays. Narcissa discussed shopping. That meant a trip to Diagon Alley – by Floo.

00O00

Harry shook himself off when he came through the vent, crashing hard into the floor of the Floo Port in Diagon Alley. He could taste soot and ash and he was pretty sure he was covered in it. A loud noise sounded behind him and Draco landed half on top of him, rolling off onto the floor of the station.

"Thanks for the soft landing," said Draco.

Sadie arrived in the fireplace next, her long purple hair blowing about her. She helped Harry to his feet. "You OK, dear? Here, let me get that." She reached up wiped a smut from his cheek with her little hand.

"Come, come," Narcissa Vanished the soot from each of the kids in turn. "Time to shop." It was strange, Harry thought, watching as Narcissa moved effortlessly through the crowds of people with a haughty air about her that was mimicked less severely by Draco, to see the witch in modernity. The regal nature of her attitude seemed so out of place. Sadie and Harry kept close to her, a little nervous of the attention they might draw.

They all agreed to meet in front of Flourish and Blotts in an hour. Narcissa strode off towards the Apothecary and the kids headed off to look at shops.

Various gift stores that sprung up annually, and shared a look before splitting up. Harry made his way to a rack of various winter accessories. What should he get for the girls? Jewellery was kind of a personal taste kind of gift, from what he'd seen, and he didn't want to spend a lot of money and time on something they'd hate. Clothes seemed like the next best thing, but he didn't know all their sizes, beyond the facts that Sadie was tiny, Milly big and the others sort of medium sized. So something like scarves seemed right for the four girls besides Sadie - friendly and useful. His best friend would need something more special though.

He pawed through the various scarves and matching hats. There were different designs to suit the character of each of girl

Pleased with himself, Harry ducked back farther into the store. He passed a display of candies and grabbed a couple of boxes, figuring Crabbe and Goyle would probably like them. They were edible, after all. This area was filled with more ornamental type items, and Harry passed through them idly, not really expecting to find something worth-while.

A glint of light caught his eye, and Harry turned and froze. On the shelf in front on him was a fancy hourglass - the kind that sat on a desk or shelf as decoration. The dark wood encasing the glass housing looked freshly polished, and the sand within it was coloured in shades of dark grey and black. A silver, metal dragon wrapped itself around the entire thing, shifting and slithering about, eyes watching Harry.

The dragon decided it for Harry, and he grabbed the hourglass, shivering slightly as the metal beast slipped over his hands as it made its way around. It was colder than he had expected. He stashed that in his bag and set off back towards the front, looking forward to Christmas just a little bit more now.

Harry finished before Draco - the other boy was fussy and he understood girls liked spending time shopping. Harry doubted that Sadie would be an exception. He started poking around the various displays. One in particular caught his attention. It was filled with fancy looking mirrors. He picked up one, using it too look behind him at the other customers. When he looked up, Harry noticed his own reflection in one of the mirrors that was facing the wrong direction. He blinked at it for a moment, then looked around for a sign.

Two-way mirrors! It declared. Keep in contact no matter the distance! A slow smile spread across Harry's face, and he grabbed a particularly regal looking set. He was certain that Mr. and Mrs. Mal- er, Narcissa would appreciate a way to keep in contact with their son at Hogwarts. And if it kept down the number of times Draco complained about being away from home, all the better.

For Sadie and Cora, he went into the Apothecary, where Narcissa was shopping. He didn't distract the blond lady. He followed Narcissa out of the Apothecary. She managed to look regal and unaffected, despite being followed by flying bags full of no doubt disgusting things.

He got distracted watching the various witches and wizards come and go, and so was startled when Draco suddenly appeared and dug him in the ribs. Harry let out a highly undignified squeak and nearly dropped his bags, then glared at the blonde as he smirked.

Sadie came trotting up to them, staggering under the weight of several bags. She grinned at Harry as he took one for her.

"Are you three ready?" Narcissa asked, arching an eyebrow at them. They nodded and Narcissa led them along to the Apparition spot. With a crack, they were standing at the gates of Malfoy Manor.


	15. Mid-Winter Night and Christmas Day

When they got back, the trio went flying around above the Malfoy's family pitch, in pursuit if a Snitch. They flew in formation, Harry in the middle. Harry glanced happily at both his friends, realising how much he appreciated them both. On his right, Draco gave a half-smile in return. On his left, Sadie beamed at him. Then Harry shot high into the air after the Snitch, honing in on it like a missile. He grabbed it and watched the fluttering wings slow before curling against the ball. Something about it was soothing.

Since they had got to do something Harry wanted to do, it seemed only fair to go back to the library for Sadie.

It was already dark outside, so the enchanted moon lamps floated above them, bathing the library and the Slytherin kids in ghostly light. This light made Sadie look even weirder than she usually did, the way it lit up her damaged face.

The small girl took an old leather-bound volume off the shelves. "You see, there have been breakthroughs in modern magic, but a lot of it doesn't really change. Stuff gets rediscovered all the time."

"Couldn't care less about it," said Draco, sticking out his tongue at her.

She smiled back with the lips of her mask. "You ought to, Draco. Look at this. A copy of Ancient Advancements." She flicked through the pages and her blue eyes widened.

"Flamel! I found him!"

The boys crowded round her and she pointed to a large inked section.

"Oh," Draco uttered nonchalantly.

"Oh?" Harry echoed questioningly.

Sadie grinned and brushed her purple hair back from her face. "Nicolas Flamel is famous for making the Philosopher's Stone."

Draco's eyes fell to the pages. "Oh."

Harry frowned, feeling left out. "And what, exactly, is the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Hah! You don't know. You dunce. Fancy not knowing," gloated Draco.

"Draco! Please…" Sadie put a little finger to the lips of her mask.

Harry crossed his arms and scowled. "I didn't have the benefit of growing up steeped in Pureblood law, like you two."

"It's fine, dear," said Sadie hastily. "The Philosopher's Stone is an object, according to legend, that can transmute base metals to gold and also create the Elixir of Life. Very few have ever discovered one. I hope that I can someday."

"Hah! You want to be rich, like a Malfoy," said Draco annoyingly.

"No, Draco. I want to discover the Elixir of Life. It can cure any illness. It can even stop death."

"But now we have a problem," said Draco. Sadie nodded gravely.

Harry frowned, not understanding the problem. The stone was probably safe inside Hogwarts. It was under a three headed dog after all. Then Harry remembered the fact his broom had been acting funny. And suddenly he understood. And it was, in fact, A Very Big Problem.

"Oh."

Sadie and Draco nodded, Draco smiling sourly and Sadie looking grim as far as Harry could read her expression through her mask.

"You see, like Sadie, someone could be after the Elixir," said Draco. "But for reasons completely different to hers."

Sadie put the book down and touched his arm. "Thank you, Draco, yes. In the wrong hands, the Elixir could be a catastrophe."

"That kind of kills the fun of the day, doesn't it?" said Draco. "But at least we can enjoy the Darkness Advent. Right, Sadie?"

Sadie clapped her hands together. "Ooh, yes!" In response to Harry's questioning stare, she explained. "It's what believers in Dark Magic call the moment of acknowledgement during the longest night of the year. They don't acknowledge it at Hogwarts, but I wouldn't miss it."

"Moment of acknowledgement?"

"You'll see."

"Only the best purebloods still acknowledge it," said Draco loftily. "It's only for the best pureblood families."

"Anyone can believe. Even Muggles can believe," said Sadie, shaking her head so that her dyed bangs rippled and bounced.

Draco lifted his nose in the air. The ghostly light shone off his white blond head like a halo. "Yeah, yeah, that's the most crackpot thing you've said all day."

The kids assembled in the living room where the chandeliers were dimmed. The only light came from black candles that gave off a ghostly blue light. It was even creepier than the moon lamp lighting. Sadie held Harry's hand as he sat on the couch. "Only join in if you want Harry," she whispered in his ear, her breath tickling.

Lucius stood. "The Acknowledgement of the Gift of Darkness can only take place in the Dark that is its homeland."

The candles flared and then went out.

"We each appreciate in our own way, what Dark Magic can do for us, for our caste and for the world at large," said Lucius. "To be powerful."

"To keep our families together," said Narcissa.

"To be the best," said Draco.

"To heal," said Sadie firmly.

Harry sat in silence as the purebloods started chanting in some strange language. To be honest, he was happy when it was over and the lights were back on and they could have cold chicken for tea.

"There. You got to witness the acknowledgement of Darkness, the Malfoy way. What a privilege," said Draco pompously. "No riff-raff would be allowed."

Harry and Sadie shared a look and had to stop themselves giggling at how silly he sounded.

00O00

Harry and Sadie bade the Malfoys a fond farewell the next morning and took the Floo Network back to Hillside House.

Cora ran up to them and hugged them both. Her familiar, musty smell filled Harry's nostrils. He supposed he should be glad of Sadie's emotional arm twisting in getting him to spend Christmas with his mother. It gladdened him to see her grinning her happy.

"How is Paddock?" asked Sadie.

"Still breathing fire," said Cora. "But he's calm."

Sadie looked sad, so Harry hugged and kissed her.

Jamie was still busy at St Mungo's, so it was up to Cora and the kids to add the finishing touches to the decorations. The tree was bedecked with icicles and snow enchanted not to melt. A tame fairy flew around the tree and settled on the top. Sadie waved at it.

Cora had tried her hand at carving her own decoration. She could only shape wood by hand, with a chisel. She showed it to them.

"A pig! How cute," said Sadie.

"It was going to be a sheep, but that was too hard," said Cora bashfully.

Sadie led Harry down the garden path to a mushroom circle where fairies flew on gossamer wings making an eerie, discordant melody.

"Come and play as the wild fairies play,

In a magical circle a fairy ring,

You won't want to leave and forever you'll stay,

Where the vision is bright as spring.

Come and dance the wild fairy dance,

Spin in a circle as fast as light,

Once you begin you are caught in a trance,

And the world will grow old in a single night."

Then the eerie chorus began to hiss.

"Those who seek us surely find us, see the trail we leave behind us.

Are we kind, or are we vicious? We'll make a poison sooo delicious…"

"Aren't they cute?" said Sadie happily.

"Hmm." Harry found them creepy rather than cute. Sadie was uprooting colourful toadstools with her wand and depositing them in her basket. "Wait, Sadie, aren't we getting stuff for the tree?"

"Oh no!" the small girl looked up, the weird fairy lights playing oddly on her green face. "These are for my experiments. Wild fairies know a lot about toadstools. Domestic fairies don't, bless them."

Harry should have known. He kept tight hold of her hand as they left the wild fairy ring.

00O00

On Christmas morning, Harry woke up to see Sadie's freaky green face very close to his, their noses almost touching. She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "Happy Christmas!"

Jamie was with them for Christmas, and the four of them gathered around the tree to open presents.

The red headed ladies sat on chairs, watching as their kids rummaged through their piles of gifts.

Harry picked up the top parcel. It was a decent sized box wrapped in shiny silver foil. The tag was from Daphne's parents. He tore it open to find several tins of polish and a polishing cloth. The note inside said, "For broom and wand." He smiled. A practical gift, but very suitable.

His next parcel was wrapped in shiny green foil, and it was from Theo's Dad. Inside was a tooled leather wand sheath. The intricate designs ensnared the eyes.

From the Davises and Bulstrodes, there were a dozen boxes of new clothes.

Sadie clapped her hands together. "How cool! Millie's Mum is a fashion designer, you know?"

"Indeed," said Jamie. "She can get samples of all the best clothes, no trouble. She's good friends with Missus Davis too."

Cora wanted Harry to dress up immediately, then she looked in the full-length mirror. "Very nice," the mirror told him. "What a smart-dressed young man, you are. Now if only you could do something about that hair..."

"Cheeky piece of glass!" Cora retorted to the mirror.

The next package was from Tracy herself, and contained a fine set of Gobstones. That was excellent; now he wouldn't have to borrow a set if he wanted to play. Sadie immediately challenged him to a game after breakfast.

Jamie had given him a pair of matched raven-feather quills and an inkwell filled with silver ink. He didn't know that he'd ever have cause to use the ink, but the quills were very nice.

Pansy's parents had bought him a subscription to the Daily Prophet. He'd mentioned several times that he ought to get the paper, and now he was saved the trouble.

Millie had bought him a cardboard box and filled it with candy. There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizbees, and other things he'd never heard of before. Even the snack trolley on the Hogwarts Express didn't have most of this stuff. He nibbled on a sugar quill.

One labelled that it was from Sadie caught his eye, and Harry carefully slid it out of its paper, as Sadie watched him expectantly. The present turned out to be a brand new wireless set. He had expressed an interest in her wireless, after all. She had also hand knitted a colourful scarf, mittens and hat combo.

"You are very talented, Sadie," said Cora. "I've never been good at knitting. Had to use animal skins."

Harry jammed the hat onto his head, stomach feeling like it was full of warm marshmallows.

From the Malfoys, he received a necklace. It depicted a coiled-up snake, which shifted slightly and looked irritated at everyone around it. On the back was the Malfoy crest.

"You are honoured, Harry," said Jamie, raising an eyebrow. "The Malfoys don't often give out such tokens of their favour."

"Now this is super cool!" said Sadie, putting a finger close to the snake which snapped at her. "What spells there must be on it!"

Harry had got Cora an all purpose amphibious stewing pot from the Apothecary that would be useful in the sewers and for Sadie, an antidote and poison kit which made her squeal in delight.

Cora had got her son a silver heart-shaped locket he could wear under his clothes.

It piqued Sadie's curiosity. "Wow. Is this really an emotion based two-way locket?"

Cora grinned. "Yes, sweetie. I have the other. So clever what witches and wizards can do with their magic. Now Harry and I can each feel what's in the heart of the other at times of great need."

There was only one parcel left. Harry picked it up and noted that it felt very light. He tore the paper off. Something fluid and silvery grey went sliding to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. 

"What is it?" Harry asked, picking it up. It felt strange to the touch, like water had been woven into the fabric.

"No idea," said Cora, frowning.

"That's an invisibility cloak," Sadie said in awe as Jamie nodded. "They're really valuable, take forever to make. They're expensive and rare. What's the note say?"

"Note?" Sure enough, a note had come with the cloak and fallen to the floor. Harry seized it. It was written in a narrow, loopy script that he'd never seen before.

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It's time it was returned to you. Use it well.

A Very Happy Christmas to you.

There was no signature. Harry stared at the note.

"You are a lucky boy," said Jamie.

Harry felt very strange as he stared at the note. "Harry, what's wrong?" Sadie put a little hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing," he replied. "But… Who sent it? Did this belong to my father? I never had a father. What was he like?"

Cora and Sadie were moved to hug him.

00O00

Harry and Cora both accompanied Sadie and her mum to the clinic where they were doing volunteer work today. Sadie and Cora had to wear hooded cloaks to hide their faces when they went out in public.

Sadie gave a sigh as they reached the clinic and she could throw back her hood.

The room had muggle kids who were burn victims. The muggle doctor there already knew about magic. He wanted them helped, no questions asked. They could only get under the Ministry's radar and help on Christmas Day, and only at this clinic.

Cora and Harry couldn't do a lot to help except hold bandages, although Cora tried boosting a little burned girl's self-esteem by hugging and kissing her.

"Are you a burn victim too?" a little boy with a burned face asked Sadie.

"No, dear. Definitely not. Cos this lotion can do nothing for me, but it will fix your burn." She anointed his face with her little hands.

The boy sighed and lay back.

"You'll be handsome again soon," promised Sadie. She whispered in Harry's ear. "I gave the lotion a boost with some magic from the fairy toadstools. I made an antidote from them. We should see results in an hour."

Mercifully, Sadie's lotion actually worked, and the boy found his burn mending. He hugged Sadie in thanks, taking up all her attention. Harry approved of what they were doing, but he couldn't help thinking wistfully of the luxurious Christmas Draco must be having.

00O00

Compared to Christmas, New Years was a very quiet affair. The kids spent the hours until midnight playing games in their room. When the clock hit 12 AM, several chimes went off throughout the house, and the parents peered into the room to with them a Happy New Year and to tell them to go to bed.

A few days after that found them at the platform. Cora hugged and kissed them both goodbye, her eyes tearing up. "I'll be along soon," she promised. "I'll have to take the Floo Network tomorrow."

Harry and Sadie found a compartment, and were soon discovered by Draco and Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle found them shortly into the trip, but Draco kicked them out, imperiously declaring that the four had Very Important Business to discuss, and that they were not invited. After a moment of confusion, the two left. Harry did feel bad for them, despite the fact that they didn't really seem to mind being sent elsewhere and it was something of a relief that he wouldn't be stuck in a compartment with Crabbe or Goyle for several hours.

They quickly found themselves getting into the mystery they had unravelled and brining Pansy up to date. Clearly the Stone had been moved to Hogwarts to protect it from being stolen, as the break-in at Gringotts proved. But the interesting question was who was trying to steal it.

"Maybe it was really one of the Weasleys all along." Draco joked, clearly enjoying pointing the finger. "Or all of them even. If anyone needs something that changes lead into gold..."

Sadie wrinkled her shiny green nose at him in semi-disgust.

"Bet it's Quirrell." Pansy replied. "Who would think that P-p-professor Q-quirrell was after the Stone?" Her imitation of Quirrel's voice was surprisingly good, and the conversation paused as the four of them broke out into laughter.

Draco, once he had his chuckles under control, rolled his eyes. "Sounds like Quirrell's put a spell on you."

00O00

The school seemed different somehow when Harry stepped into the Front Hall again.

Holding hands, Harry and Sadie waded around the sea of students. They spotted Hermione, and Sadie led them over to her.

"I got you something, I didn't know your addresses but..." She dug into the small bag on her shoulders and pulled out a sleek, wrapped gift. A book naturally: 'So You've Found Out Magic is Real,' by Charity Burbage, the new Muggle Studies Professor. "This is really good, but I understand the author can't use it for her classes here. The textbook she does have was written by a governor's relative, so it stays. But Burbage is a pureblooded witch who really gets what it must be like for those of you coming straight from the Muggle World."

"That's..." Hermione breathed out, her eyes wide as she cradled the gift against her chest. "That's very decent of you Sadie, thank you. Thank you."

Harry nodded his head and took Sadie by the hand. "Well, we'd better be going. Happy late Christmas."

They threw themselves through the crowd to re-join Pansy and Draco, who were looking at him dumbfounded.

"That..." Draco looked over at Hermione who had looked over her gift and was jumping up and down delightedly. "Was a weird thing to do. Fraternising with Muggle-borns."

"Oh, stoppit, Draco," said Harry.

"Mmm." Pansy nodded her head in agreement and eyed Hermione, pursing her lips as she studied the Muggle-born. "Well, come along, let's get to the Common Room, I want to see if Theo liked the spice cake my mum made him."

00O00

The next day, which was a Sunday, they arrived back on a weekend to give them time to adjust, Harry had a lesson with Professor Snape. He arrived in the classroom with his cauldron and a positive attitude. He had wanted to bring his Professor a gift, but had no idea what to buy him, so he had settled instead, on purchasing a well-thought out Christmas card. He had even written a long thank you note (almost half a roll of parchment) and tucked it inside. Harry had picked the card because it was simple; a snow scene where the snow fell softly and every so often wildlife, such as snow owls swooped through the sky. But the selling point for Harry had been the deer that walked through the trees every fifteen minutes like clockwork. Well, that and the message inside the card.

However, after he had sent the card several days before Christmas, he hadn't received a reply. Maybe he had overstepped his bounds. Maybe he was supposed to simply acknowledge the Professor in the classroom and never address him outside of it. He entered the room, which was empty, but his usual desk was set up and the book he had been study was open to a page, and various vials and implements were stretched out on the desk. Harry approached slowly, and peered down at the potion on the page. It was a fairly basic headache cure.

Harry looked up at a noise and saw Professor Snape swooping in from the back rooms. He closed the door and charmed it. Harry always wondered if the room behind there was some sort of inner sanctum or his bedroom. Possibly both. He nodded his head in greeting.

"Hello, Professor."

Snape gave a curt nod. "Mr. Potter, thank you for being prompt."

Harry gave a feeble smile. "No problem. I... I was wondering... I did send you an owl over Christmas, had you received it?"

Freezing, the professor's eyes tracked to Harry's face. He stared for a long moment, searching for something. Harry wasn't sure if he found what he was looking for, but the man gave a curt nod. "Yes, I did. Thank you, Mr. Potter." Harry's smile became stronger, while Snape's expression went blank.

Harry ducked his head back down to look at the instructions. A glance at Snape confirmed that he was to start, and with a wave of his wand the cauldron began to heat.

This time, Harry found the professor's hints helpful. He had an endless supply of little tips, like strategies for cutting plants versus animals, or differing ways of holding the stirring rod depending on the speed he was supposed to mix it at.

Through it all, Harry noticed that the professor's hand kept sliding in and out of his pockets. The first few times he didn't think anything of it, but when it persisted throughout the entire lesson, Harry started to worry a bit. Was there something in his pocket that Professor Snape wanted to deal with? For the man to do something so obvious a First Year could notice it, it must be awfully important. Guilt gnawed at him for a moment, but the professor's previous warnings kept him from saying anything.

Finally, he poured a portion of his potion into a vial and handed it to Snape. The professor carefully examined it, twirling it in his hand to examine the consistency. "Slightly thinner than average. Can you tell me why, Mr. Potter?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "I should have let it cool longer before adding the dittany?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling, sir."

Snape nodded, looking faintly pleased. Or, as pleased as Snape got. "Correct." He placed the vial on the table in front of Harry, and with a flick of his wand summoned several others. Another motion had the cauldron pouring the potion into the vials. "What effect will the thin texture have?"

Harry had to think for a moment before he could answer. "It will lower the shelf life."

He got another nod. "Correct. Because of this, these potions will be going to the infirmary." Harry blinked at the professor, stunned. "Shelf life is rarely a problem at this school, much less for something like a headache potion. The fifth years alone will probably use these up before the week is out."

More blinking was his response, and Snape looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "T-thank you, sir." Harry finally managed, a smile spreading across his face.

"Do not thank me. I assure you, that had your potion not been of the proper quality you would be hearing about it." Snape eyed him and Harry nodded. He had expected as much. "Now, I think you have used up enough of my time." The phrase had no heat behind it, and the boy only smiled a bit. "Run along now."

Harry took a moment to clean up the station a bit, where some of the more unpleasant items had oozed, before grabbing his bag. Before left, he paused and turned to his teacher. "Thank you again for doing this, Professor. I meant what I said in that note - you really didn't have to."

A dry look what his response. "What have I said about offering my time?" Snape drawled, and Harry ducked his head and nodded, feeling a bit pleased. "Have a good evening, Mr. Ev-Potter." Snape twitched slightly at his own words, and his hand dove back into his pocket. After a moment it reappeared, and this time Harry could see the corner of the card he had given the man peeking out.

Giving no sign that he'd noticed either - no way he'd appreciate that - Harry waved and smiled. "Bye, Professor." He ducked out quickly, dragging his feet slightly as he tried to figure out what the professor had almost said.

As he made his way back to the common room, it struck him. Evans. Snape had seen his birth mother in the mirror.

Did Harry remind Snape of his birth mother?


	16. Pillars of the School

The idea of having a connected with Snape in some way made Harry's heart soar, and he pressed his bag to his chest and muttered the password, 'Knotgrass'. He stumbled into the Common Room with a small, private smile.

When he got into the Common Room, Harry saw Sadie, Tracy and Draco sitting on one of the couches and joined them.

Sadie smiled at him and Tracy waved and bade him Happy New Year.

"Someone hit you with a Cheering Charm or something?" Draco asked, one eyebrow arching. "Who looks so happy on the first day of school?"

Harry sat himself down by Sadie. Tracy already had an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, so Harry put his arm around her skinny waist. "I suppose I'm weird like that, Draco. Weirdness is good."

Sadie grinned up at him and he winked at her.

"Let's just say, Draco, that I learned a lot in my tutoring session with Snape just now."

"Boring," said Draco.

"Tell me all about it later," said Sadie, gazing at him through the eyeholes in her mask.

Harry would tell her when the two of them were alone. It seemed to private a matter to tell the others.

Millie came up to them at this point. "Quidditch is coming up. It's only Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but Harry gets to play the winner, so we should all watch."

"We all should – unless Sadie finds it too rough," said Draco smirking. "Do you look forward to seeing a player's skull being cracked open with a Bludger?"

"No," said Sadie, her masked face contorting into a grimace.

Tracy kissed her friend's green cheek. "Ignore the silly boy, dear."

Theo came up at this point, with Pansy Parkinson. "Who's a silly boy?"

"You!" said Pansy gleefully, which made the two of them start bickering at once.

00O00

The Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw was decidedly less interesting than Harry's own match against Gryffindor. He dutifully studied what the Ravenclaw Seeker did, but he was unimpressed.

Marcus Flint, Captain of the House team, had joined the first years to give running commentary on Charlie Chalk's rather lacklustre performance for Ravenclaw. Harry, Flint assured him, would be a better Seeker than Chalky even if Harry were blindfolded.

"Chalky is a clown, really," Flint added, almost affectionately, and smirked. "Just a funny boy. No one takes him seriously."

"Aw," said Sadie.

This gave Harry high hopes for their own match against Ravenclaw next month.

Flint's presence also had the added advantage of keeping Weasley from bothering them. The big tough Captain was very imposing when he wanted to be, and Harry thought that one scowl would be enough to send the mean Gryffindor running for cover. While Harry knew that he and his friends could handle anything that Weasley chose to say or do, it was easier to not have to deal with him at all.

Ravenclaw won the match, which dragged long into the day, 300-100. Though the Seekers were competent, if uninspired, the Chasers and Keepers made the game exciting. There were dozens of brilliant plays on both sides, and that kept the score neck and neck for hours.

When the match finally finished, almost more by accident than deliberate effort by Chalky, the young Slytherins were diverted from going to the library by the necessity of having lunch. They ate as fast as polite manners would allow, even Crabbe and Goyle, who normally liked to gorge themselves.

In the library, they discussed the serious matter of what they knew about the Philosopher's Stone.

Theo's eyes flashed in triumph. "Well, there's our answer," he crowed. "Fluffy is guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone. Flamel must have found out that someone was after it, so he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him."

"And no surprise why someone wants to steal it," Draco observed. "Immortality and unlimited wealth? I wouldn't mind that at all."

"Neither would a lot of people," Theo said.

"I wouldn't mind," Pansy said. "I'd never have to worry about spending too much money on clothes ever again."

"I know," Tracy said with a sigh. "Can you imagine? I would buy hundreds of shoes."

"We should try to find it before Quirrell does," Pansy suggested.

"I still think Professor Snape could be after it," Theo said.

"It isn't Snape, you moron," Pansy lashed out at him, and they began to bicker again.

Eventually, their informal meeting was adjourned, but Sadie, Draco and Harry remained in the library to research further.

"The elixir could be used in conjunction with Dark Magic to recreate a body," whispered Sadie, poring over a tome from the Restricted Section (she'd thoughtfully got a signed note from Professor Snape for permission to look through it). "That is, to create a magical body. That's one way of overcoming death. Even a Muggle with Leukemia could be saved this way."

"Quirrell wouldn't be doing that, would he?" said Draco raising an eyebrow. "What does the stuttering idiot care about Muggles?"

At that moment, Hemione Granger came up to them, her lips compressed.

Draco sneered at her.

"Hey!" said Sadie, smiling and touching her arm in greeting, but Hermione glared.

"Someone from Slytherin has been bullying Neville – Neville Longbottom – and I'm going to report it. How can you be OK with stuff like this?"

"Why do you care?" said Draco, letting his voice fall into his bored drawl. "Longbottom is clumsy enough with magic that he might as well be from a Muggle family. The great lump is practically a Squib."

The girls both glared at Draco.

"A Squib wouldn't get an invite to this school," Harry reminded Draco.

"Now you're just splitting hairs," said Draco.

"Start from the beginning. What happened?" said Sadie, turning her green face to Hermione.

"It was Crabbe. He performed the leg locker curse on him. Said he'd been looking for someone to practice on."

"Crabbe did that on his own?" said Draco, finally taking an interest. "He shouldn't. I never gave him permission. I'll deal with this."

Sadie nodded, her purple hair rippling. "There, Hermione. You see? We will sort this out. Don't accuse us of being bullies because of our House." There was an edge to her voice as she said the last part and she was breathing through her nose, a sign she was annoyed.

"A good point," said Harry. "You would not like being insulted for your Muggle background."

"No," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Teaching manners to a Muggleborn?" said Draco smirking. "There's a losing battle."

"Helping someone who didn't have our advantages to fit in," Sadie corrected him.

Hermione leaned forward and kissed her green cheek. "I know. Sorry. I'm grateful. The book is really good. Professor Burbage actually gets what it was like for me, not knowing why I did accidental magic. All that crazy stuff."

"Alright," Sadie replied, kissing Hermione back to show the apology was accepted. "Maybe Professor Burbage can help. The other teachers would take her seriously if she suggested ways to help Muggleborns and Muggle-Raised."

"Crackpot idea! As always!" said Draco loudly, getting a disapproving glance from Madame Pince, the librarian.

"You could help, instead of being a pillock," said Harry. "Aren't the Malfoys the best at wizarding manners?"

"Mm. We are," said Draco. "There may be something in what you say."

00O00

In the Slytherin Common Room, the trio saw Crabbe lounging on a chair, holding a mouse by the tail and dangling it in front of one of the cats, just out of reach of its jaws. They advanced on him.

"Don't treat the mouse that way!" Sadie was breathing through her nose.

Draco knocked Crabbe's hand so that the mouse scampered off.

"Crabbe, I understand you've been doing some hexing without my permission," said Draco pleasantly. Sadie and Harry stood by in grim silence.

"A bloody Gryffindor," mumbled Crabbe.

"Just him being a Gryffindor is enough for you to hate him?" Harry speculated incredulously. "That's just like Weasley, saying that because of their House, they're worthy of our contempt."

Sadie glared through the eyeholes in her green mask. "Why exactly did you pick on him? He's never hurt anyone. He's too weak to defend himself."

Harry agreed. "You can hex Weasley all you like as far as I'm concerned, but Longbottom has never crossed the line."

Draco nodded. "And don't forget who's top of the patronage tree. The Malfoys. You don't get to go round hexing anyone willy-nilly without my say-so. If you do, we will have a serious chat."

Crabbe looked sullen. He did not dare talk back to Malfoy. He addressed Harry instead. "You played around with Longbottom's stupid glass ball that time."

"That was different," Harry snapped. "That wasn't to antagonize Longbottom; he wasn't even there. It was to irritate Weasley. If Longbottom's Remembrall had broken, I would have bought him another. Your picking on weak kids for the heck of it, is a problem."

"Quite right," said Sadie.

"And there will be no more of it, will there Crabbe?" said Draco, with a small smirk.

Crabbe knew when he was beaten. He didn't dare defy Draco. "N-No."

Theo arrived. "What in Merlin's name is going on?" he asked. "Have you been in the library all this time? Even I don't like studying that much."

That made Harry crack a smile. "We had something to discuss. I think you ought to hear it too, actually."

"Harry feels bad if Longbottom's picked on, Theo," Draco said sniggering. "He says Crabbe shouldn't pick on the weaker kids for the heck of it."

"I say so too," said Sadie coolly.

Theo rubbed his jaw thoughtfully with one index finger. "You could be right. Okay then, from now on, we only hex those who earn it. I guess we'd better tell everyone else."

"Pansy's not going to like this," Draco warned.

"Who cares what she likes?" Theo replied nonchalantly.

School life settled into a predictable routine. Their private practices at casting hexes and curses had them far ahead of Quirrell's lesson plans. Night-time Astronomy lessons resumed, to Professor Sinistra's great delight. Whenever they passed the forbidden corridor on the third floor, Fluffy's growls and snarls could still be heard if one pressed an ear up against the door. The Stone was, to all appearances, still safe.

Professor Snape continued to act like Professor Snape. He still offered tutelage to Harry, and he maintained a very proper attitude through it all.

Professor Quirrell continued to be Professor Quirrell. He stuttered his way through his lectures, he jumped at unexpected sounds, and he never told them about "the good stuff". His behaviour gave the first year Slytherins no clues, but neither did Professor Snape's.

They were all frustrated at their lack of progress, none more than Harry. He wanted to know why Quirrell had tried to kill him and what precisely his game was. He wanted answers; he felt more than entitled.

Harry realised that Gryffindor must be a tough place for misfits. That became clear one day in Transfiguration.

"But I wrote the essay!" said Hermione Granger, almost crying. "I did, Professor McGonagall."

"What could have happened to it then?" said Ron Weasley, smirking. "I doubt anyone took it from your bag and flushed it down a toilet." Hermione turned red and looked at the floor.

Sadie narrowed her eyes at Weasley through the holes in her mask. Harry also thought Ron was being very obvious about it.

"It can't go on," whispered Sadie in Harry's ear, her breath tickling.

Harry agreed, but they couldn't sort Weasley out like they could Crabbe. He was uneasy when Sadie remained behind, but stayed with her anyway.

McGonagall peered at them over her spectacles. "Yes Potter, McIntyre?"

Harry was about to speak, but he hesitated. Was it his place to tell on Weasley?

But Sadie spoke up. "That Ron Weasley… he's being rotten to Hermione and he's started hiding her things. Someone needs to do something. Outsiders at Hogwarts need help. Why isn't there any help for those who don't have pureblooded backgrounds?"

"One thing at a time, McIntyre. I'll deal with Weasley. As for helping those of less privileged background, your concern does you credit. There was once a club for Muggle-raised, but it has long been discontinued."

"Ought it not to be re-continued then, Professor?" said Harry. "I'm not Muggle-raised, but I wasn't raised by wizards either. I would have really struggled without my friends."

He squeezed Sadie's hand. She brushed her cold lips against his cheek.

Warming to his theme, Harry continued. "I could get people interested. And doesn't Professor Burbage know about stuff like this? Has anyone asked her?"

McGonagall nodded. "I will relay your message to her, Potter, and let you know."

"I hope she agrees with me," said Harry.

McGonagall gave a tight lipped smile. "As do I."

"About Hermione…" Sadie began.

"If you want to help, just be a friend to her. That's what she needs. The conduct of her housemates is none of your concern. I have said I can handle it."

"I think we did something good," said Harry. "The club is a really good idea."

"Ooh yes," said Sadie. "Poor Hermione, though…"

00O00

After McGonagall put the question to the rest of the staff, most of them enthusiastically agreed that something informal, like a club, should be arranged for the students with non-wizarding backgrounds.

Professor Burbage enthusiastically agreed to organise it.

The ghost of Professor Binns was baffled of course, but Dumbledore surprised McGonagall by objecting that Slytherin students would subject Muggle-borns to the worst of pureblood prejudices.

"Headmaster, you can't honestly think I'd let that happen," said Professor Burbage, visibly hurt.

"H-H-H-Harry P-P-Potter," stammered Quirrell. "Q-Quite the y-y-y-young l-leader. Starts a club for the M-M-M"

"Muggleborn," said McGonagall impatient with Quirrell's exaggerated stammering.

Quirrell rubbed his hands together. "F-F-Fancies h-h-himself a l-leader and G-G-G-Granger's knight in shining armour." Quirrell smirked at the thought.

"He is a young leader, and I for one am proud of him," said Snape coolly.

00O00

Under Professor Burbage's supervision, Harry and Sadie had the very first meeting for their club, just the three of them.

"A club is the best way to start making friends, Hermione," said Sadie briskly. "Since this club is about educating the Muggleborn, you should be secretary. From what I've seen of you in class, you will take very complete minutes. Now we have to bridge the gap with Gryffindor somehow, in spite of Weasley and all his works. In the self-appointing oligarchy of Wizarding Elders, there is a position called the Wizengamot-Serjeant-at-Arms. Nowadays it's little more than a sinecure and I think Longbottom could do it. It would help build his confidence and maybe the other Gryffindors would stop following Weasley's example."

"That's a fantastic idea," said Hermione clapping her hands.

When Harry and Sadie put the idea to Draco, they were careful to be tactful and make it sound like they were doing it to defy Dumbledore.

"Once everything is scheduled, Dumbledore can't stop it without looking like a spoilsport," said Harry.

"Educating the Muggleborn under Dumbledore's crooked nose! What a prank," said Draco. "But I'm not going to be Granger's best friend. Certainly not."

"You don't have to marry her, Draco," said Sadie, rolling her eyes at him. "Just be nice and everything will be great."

"Marry Granger!" Draco snorted. "In what world would that happen?"

"Well, this sounds like a wonderful idea of yours, darling," said Tracy, hugging Sadie and kissing her full on the mouth. "I want to teach the Muggleborns good manners. There are purebloods these days who need reminding of them, too. Look at Weasley."

"Father does say the old ways are being forgotten. Perhaps I'll help too," said Theo.

"You help?" jeered Pansy. That set the two of them off bickering again.

00O00

The first session of Hogwarts Togetherness was held in one of the roomier classrooms which had been cleared for the occasion. Charity Burbage was supervising, but not actively organising. That was left to Harry.

"Welcome, everyone! Now as you know, Hogwarts is an amazing place, but it is only one part of the magical world. Some of us don't want to just get by. We want to really understand it and become a part of it. And yet some of us did not even know about it until last summer." He flashed a smile at the first years. "We can all learn from each other here."

Harry was glad to hand it over to Sadie who was eager to take care of the first years.

"Things are a lot more old fashioned in the magical world. That is because witches and wizards live so much longer than muggles. It's the magic in us that heals mundane injuries and illnesses. Magic can even stop death altogether." She paused. Harry wondered what was on her mind. But then she continued. "If you speak to a grown up wizard, call him 'sir.' But you must only say 'ma'am' to very old witches. We should practice."

The children practiced formal introductions and also discussed bowing and when to call a witch 'Madam' instead of 'Mrs.'

When it came to refreshments, everyone was happy. Tracy and Daphne had given the house-elves a list of their favourite things, including potted shrimp sandwiches, blackberry scones and a dark purple jam tart which Daphne explained was made from berries from a Witch's Snare.

"It's a cultivar of Devil's Snare. Not as dangerous, but it still grabs at you when you pluck its berries," she told them.

When it was time to go, Hermione was optimistic about getting the attendance up. "Dean and Seamus will be disappointed they missed the food. Weasley should have offered them something equally attractive to do, instead of just forbidding them to go and leaving it at that. They won't let him push them around anymore if he keeps on that road."

As they moved into the entrance hall, something wet hit Harry in the face and a terrible stench filled the air.

"It's Potty wee Potter and his Potty friends," cackled the voice of Peeves the Poltergeist. The wretched creature was hurling dungbombs at them. One caught Sadie squarely on her mask and she yelped. Harry and Tracy grabbed the small girl to stop her falling.

"I'll tell the Bloody Baron about this," raged Daphne.

Harry could here sniggering in the corridor down the hall and saw Ron Weasley and the twins dashing away. So, they had put Peeves up to it. Weasley was against school unity? That came as no surprise. He could not stop their club though, not now it had begun.

00O00

Sadie's birthday was coming up. Harry took Draco aside and talked to him about getting her a copy of Modern Medean Magic – or 'mmm' as Sadie called it.

"That can be arranged quite easily," said Draco. "But you will owe me a favour. That's a rule of the highest magical nobility." Draco puffed up as he often did when reminding anyone that he was of the highest magical nobility.

Harry arranged for Sadie to receive a copy sent to her by a special postal service with a bouquet of flowers. She went into transports of delight and couldn't stop hugging and kissing him in thanks. It warmed his heart to see her so happy. He could put up with her talking about the unappetising details of organ replacement and magical parasite removal detailed in the pages.

Almost before Harry realized it, it was the middle of February, and St. Valentine's Day was upon them. Red, white, and pink decorations were all over the castle, and everyone was exchanging cards. Some cards would sing, others would rhyme, and lots of things were exploding with confetti.

After Draco had warned him that girls expected certain things for this rather silly holiday, Harry had gotten creative and Charmed up his own valentines for the five first year Slytherin girls, each with a little poem on it (stolen from a book, to be sure, but appropriately cited and sourced). He and Sadie exchanged extra large novelty cards. She also presented him with a bouquet of what looked like ugly, blue venus flytrap plants that snapped at anyone who put their fingers close to them. Sadie clearly thought they were something special ("Aren't they cute?").

To his intense surprise, he received other valentines, and not just from girls in his year. Samantha Warrington, Erika Steele, Veronica Sawyer, and Joy duMonde, all second years, each gave him cards. Mandy Brocklehurst, his friends' friend in Ravenclaw, also sent him a card, and he barely knew her.

Draco got numerous valentines as well and Theo got token valentines from the close-knit quintet of first year Slytherin girls, who had taken to calling themselves the Snake-Quintette (misspelled deliberately to sound daintier and more feminine). Draco acted nonchalant about valentines, but Theo was pleased.

The girls got more emotional than the boys about their valentines, but that was only natural. On Valentines Day, Tracy hugged Harry almost as much as Sadie did and much more than she hugged Draco or Theo. She also spent several long occasions gazing wistfully at Niles the prefect.

Theo had given Pansy a bunch of dead flowers and a valentine with a sarcastic sounding message. It was as close as Theo ever got to expressing affection for her. He had borrowed Harry's bottle of silver ink for the inscription, and Harry had thought it seemed funny rather than insulting.

In contrast to the festive mood inside the castle, the weather that whole week was rainy, cold, and miserable. Harry was not looking forward to playing the weekend's Quidditch match in these conditions.

It was Slytherin versus Ravenclaw, and Slytherin had a commanding point lead over the other Houses, so Harry could catch the Snitch as quickly as he liked. He hoped that he would be able to catch it soon and get back to the common room or the dorm where he could cuddle with Sadie and be warm.

The first years were all concerned that Quirrell would try his heinous crime again. Theo and Tracy and Sadie stared grimly at him through their binoculars, hardly blinking. Sadie had a pocketful of her special pebbles, this time more explosive than ever. She rattled them as she glared at Quirrell and then swept her gaze around the stands.

"I doubt anyone will try anything," said Daphne, checking her nail varnish. "Dumbledore's watching this time."

Suddenly, Draco felt someone poke him in the back of the head.

"Sorry, Malfoy, didn't see you there. I thought it was an ugly ferret faced creature." Weasley sniggered. "And how long's Potter going to stay on his broom this time?" Weasley added in a nasty tone of voice.

"Why, Weasley, did you want to make a bet? Wait – you don't have two knuts to rub together." Draco's drawling sneer was in full force.

"How dare you make that joke about Harry's safety, Weasley!" said Sadie. She turned to the Gryffindor bully. She was breathing through her nose and her blue eyes were glinting through the holes in her mask. Tracy put an arm around her friend's shoulders and glared at Ron as well.

"What is that? An extremely ugly green mannequin?" said Weasley.

The Slytherins and Gryffindors began to draw their wands.

"Please just leave it," urged Sadie. "Don't react, that's what he wants. Focus on Harry and keeping him safe. Don't let Weasley distract us by starting a fight down here."

It was fortunate that up in the air, Harry was so focused on the Snitch. He swooped past Madam Hooch to grab it, and the match was over, 210 to 40.

The cheering was deafening from the throats of the youths in green and silver trim. The Slytherin team landed gracefully on the pitch where Bole and Derrick lifted Harry up onto their shoulders. His friends left the three Weasleys and they all hurried towards the stairs to congratulate him.

00O00

There was a small party in the Slytherin common room that evening. Several of the older students went to the kitchen and had the house elves send up a whole smorgasbord along with pumpkin juice, milk, and tea.

Harry was man of the hour. Everyone wanted to shake his hand. Many of the girls gave him belated valentines. All in all, it was rather embarrassing to be made so much of along with Flint and the rest of the team. None of the team members were allowed to do anything for themselves. Everything was fetched for them, poured for them, and the choicest morsels were theirs for the eating. At the head of the table, reserved for the Captain, Flint wasn't even feeding himself; Elizabeth Archer was sitting on his lap and holding his fork for him.

The party was a loud, boisterous affair, made more so in that it was Saturday, and there were no classes the next day. The celebrating went long into the night. Harry was toasted again and again.

Harry was very happy. He'd done something that he could be proud of. Nobody could say he was lucky anymore, or just a famous name. Harry's friends managed to get through the throng of older students. Draco clapped him on shoulder and Sadie sat herself on his knee, grinning broadly as he cuddled her to him and lightly kissed her cold cheek.

What a party. Harry had never had one quite like it, and it would be a treasured memory for the rest of his days.


	17. Norberta, the Norwegian Ridgeback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Details of the Togetherness Club are inspired by the fanfiction written by Arsinoe de Blassenville a.k.a. Susan, which can be found on fanfiction.net.
> 
> RIP Susie :( You were taken from me far too early. I still think of you as my muse and imagine you looking down from Heaven as I type. My writing still urgently needs your expert help.

Things had calmed down by the time classes started on Monday, and then things were back into a steady routine. The weather began to grow warmer and the snow slowly dwindled. Gryffindor lost their Quidditch match to Hufflepuff, leaving them in last place for both the Quidditch Cup and House Cup.

The Hogwarts Togetherness club continued, and attendance improved. One meeting, Professor Burbage arrived, smiling at Harry and greeting Sadie affectionately.

Neville was patrolling the room. "Malfoy's late. His friends too."

Sadie grinned at him. "Wait 'til you see what he has planned."

The door swung open and Draco swaggered in, beating a shepherd's crook and leading a beautiful, pink sheep.

"I present to you Lavinia, the purest Ewe of Sugarcandy breed."

The girls all squealed and ran up to her.

"The darling thing!"

"She's gorgeous, Draco."

"What a cute little face."

"So pink."

Sadie ran her little hands through Lavinia's pink wool and her mask rippled weirdly as her features underneath it moved to make a kissy face. "You're a sweet thing. Yes, you are."

Hermione strode forward, stroked the wool and then boldly plunged her hands into it. "She is really soft."

The boys were less enthusiastic, until Lavinia started munching on Draco's robes, much to Draco's chagrin. The other boys laughed loudly and cheered the pink ewe.

Neville tried to get the girls to form a queue. Hannah Abbot put her hands in the wool as well. "Ooh, my hands. So soft," she squealed.

Sadie smiled at her with the lips of her mask. "And why do you think that is, Hannah?"

Hannah didn't know the answer, so Hermione answered for Hannah. "Lanolin. It's the lanolin in the wool."

"Huh? What? What d'you mean?" said Pansy, puzzled.

"Lanolin must be the muggle word for woolwax," said Tracy. "See? You learned something, Pansy."

Professor Burbage spoke. "Daphne. Can you name a magical product that uses woolwax?"

"Sleekeasy hair potion. Makes hair smooth and shiny," said Daphne.

"Granger needs some," said Pansy snidely.

"Pansy!" Sadie glared at her.

"Excuse us a moment," said Professor Burbage, and she led Pansy out of the room.

Sadie gave Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't mind Pansy, that's just the way she is. Cheeky to everyone."

"Yeah, she can't stop shooting off her mouth," said Theo, grinning.

Professor Burbage came back with a chastened Pansy.

"Sorry, Granger, I didn't mean anything by it."

Hermione nodded.

Next, the kids tried their hand at dancing the Shepherd Dance traditionally danced at shearing time. The tune was rhythmic, but it also seemed a bit melancholy. They began to pair up. Harry was apprehensive about dancing for the first time ever, but Sadie took his hand and pulled him excitedly to the centre of the floor.

"Come on, Harry. It'll be fun."

Draco tapped out the rhythm with the shepherd's crook. Sadie led Harry through the steps, beaming up at him happily. Perhaps dancing wasn't so bad.

"Swing me round, hon."

Harry twirled Sadie round in a loop to finish their dance and then she hugged him tight, pressing her green mannequin face against his chest, while he stroked her purple hair.

Harry and a bunch of girls from all houses walked back together.

Sadie was very happy and chatty after the dancing. "See, Hermione? Isn't it fun, dancing the magical way? Anyone can join in."

Hermione smiled back at her. "It is. But I'm not as good as you."

"Oh, you'll get better."

"You have such dainty feet, Sadie." Said Tracy fondly. "Dancing comes easy to you. Such adorable little feet you have."

Sadie's features shifted weirdly beneath her shiny green mask as she pulled a face. "Little feet?"

Tracy grinned. "Perfect baby feet."

They both burst into giggles and Tracy leaned down so that the two of them could rub their noses together.

00O00

Harry really enjoyed Potions. He and Sadie worked so well together that their potions were uniformly successful.

Today they were brewing a potion for expelling parasites. The shimmering light of the cauldron lit up Sadie's green face as she stirred.

"This potion gets rid of non-magical parasites, but if it had a drop of darkness added, it would get rid of magical ones as well," she said brightly. "And just one dark spell should be enough to make the flesh and essence spasm at once to get them out."

"Gross," said Harry. "I don't know if I can think about that before lunch."

She smiled at him, crinkling her shiny green nose. "Thank you so much again for getting me MMM. It helps me understand these things better. It's given me clues about where to look in the Restricted Section too."

'MMM' was what she called Modern Medean Magic, the book about Healing using Dark Magic that Harry had got her for her birthday. She even pronounced it 'mmm.'

Ron Weasley was messing around causing trouble as usual. This time he was insulting Millie. "You've taken all the ingredients with your big, man hands. Greengrass! Tell your boyfriend not to pinch everything. What a cosy couple you make."

Weasley spoke too loudly and Professor Snape heard him. Snape looked up from the mess of Crabbe and Goyle's potion and swept over to the Gryffindor. It gladdened Harry to see Weasley's eyes fill with fear as Snape loomed over him.

"You will not speak for the remainder of the class. You will remain behind afterwards."

"I have Herbology next, Professor."

"Not anymore."

Sadie curled her rubbery lip at Weasley. Suddenly, Harry felt his scar stab with pain. Sadie touched his arm, her blue eyes gazing at him anxiously through the holes in her green mask. "Are you alright, dear?"

"My scar." He muttered. "It's alright now though."

Sadie still looked anxious.

00O00

That night, Tracy came rushing into the boys' dorm room. They all looked up in surprise as she collapsed against the doorframe and put on a tragic face. "The world is going to end!" she cried.

Sadie was in the boys dorm as well, sitting on Harry's bed, where they had been talking.

"What?" all the boys echoed.

"Tracy… don't be so silly." said Sadie, stifling a giggle.

Tracy raised one hand and pressed the back against her forehead. She tilted her head. "Armageddon is upon us! We sit our exams in only eight weeks, and I haven't yet begun to revise!"

"Told you she was silly," said Sadie.

Draco laughed loudly. "You're such a drama queen, Tracy."

"But it's tragic!" she insisted. "We're all going to have to draw up study schedules. We need to pass these exams to come back next year."

"Relax," Theo told her in a bored voice. "We made up schedules two days ago. I keep track of things like this."

She scoffed. "Tragic," she said again. "Sadie, darling… aren't you coming to bed?"

She put a small arm around Harry and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, dear… I'm staying with Harry tonight. I must."

"Quite right," said Harry. His mother obviously couldn't come into their dormitory, but if he needed comforting, Sadie could stay with him.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Well, you heard her Tracy. You've got no reason to stay in here."

"Aw. I'll miss you." Tracy and Sadie kissed each other goodnight and then Sadie drew the curtains of the four poster shut. She lit up the end of her wand with a silvery light, that played strangely over her disfigured doll face.

She bit her lip. "Listen Harry, I've been reading up on the Dark Arts…"

"That's not new, now is it?" said Harry, lightly touching the tip of her green nose with his finger.

She smiled. "No, it isn't… but I think I may have found out something. Umm… your scar hurts sometimes when you get those nightmares, right? You've always been able to talk to toads and snakes?"

"Right. So, what have you found?"

"Harry… I just want you to make a promise…" she ran her fingers through her purple hair. "Take care of you, OK? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. Dunno what you're mother would do either… I'm worried."

"You've found out something about my scar?"

"Maybe. I hope I'm wrong. I need to research some more. Just remember that I love you so much, I'd do whatever it takes to keep you with us. I've got powers poor Cora doesn't. I'm gonna get good at Dark Magic someday. I'll change the world. No little boy need die of Leukemia or any other foul disease again. I'd take his spirit in my hands and make him a new body."

"I believe in you," said Harry, putting his arms around her and hugging her close.

She whispered in his ear. "Wish you didn't have to play Quidditch. I get worried sick, seeing those rough Beaters whacking iron balls at you. 'Specially the Weasley twins. What a nightmare."

"Quidditch is important. And it's only Hufflepuff in our final match. They're not really rough. Nothing like Gryffindor."

"Mm." She squeezed him tight. "Dunno why our friends like seeing you in the firing range like that. The Quidditch Cup can't be that important. Slytherins shouldn't be stupid as Gryffindors. I just want my friends be safe."

"Oh, don't fret, Sadie. Turn that frown upside down."

She nuzzled his ear with her cold, plastic nose.

"Make me."

"Alright."

He lay her on the bed and tickled her so that she shrieked with laughter and wriggled like a mad thing.

"Shut up that racket!" Came Draco's voice.

The silencing charms around their bed weren't working too well. Probably too advanced for First Years to do well.

Harry stopped tickling her and gathered her skinny form up in his arms.

"Sorry, Draco. Won't happen again."

Sadie rubbed her cheek against his. "Aw, you've woken Draco. Naughty, naughty boy. I'll make you behave."

Harry allowed her to push him onto the bed. They lay side by side in silence. "That poor Muggle boy… it weighs on your mind, doesn't it?" said Harry.

"Yes. Can't do anything for him now. But I still can for you. I can make you stay with me forever."

"Uh-huh. A very happy thought."

"Very happy, or scarily beautiful," she said thoughtfully. "Which'll it be? But I won't ever lose you." She nuzzled his neck with her cold, mannequin face and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

00O00

Tracy was quite right to say that it was an urgent thing that exams were only eight weeks away. Harry was inclined to agree with her, as the teachers seemed to think the students needed to study hard as well and relentlessly piled on the work. He studied fervently, trying to complete all his homework the night it was assigned and seldom succeeding.

With such work piled high on their desks, the Easter holidays weren't nearly as enjoyable as Christmas time. The only real break in their schoolwork came on the last Sunday of the holiday when the school choir had their first performance.

Slytherin flattened Hufflepuff in the Quidditch match some weeks later. The score was completely ridiculous: 300-30. Harry flew circles around the Hufflepuff Seeker, and catching the Snitch seemed like the easiest thing in the world. As he flew his victory circuit of the pitch, he thumbed his nose at Weasley, for that third victory had clinched the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin.

When he got back onto the ground, Sadie ran up to him and wrapped her little arms around his middle, hugging him fiercely. The other Slytherins followed more slowly.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it, Sadie?" said Harry.

"Still wish you didn't have to do it," said Sadie.

The party in Slytherin House that night was wild. Once again, there was a table set up for the team members. Once again, nothing was too good for them. Once again, they had every want and desire catered to. Once again, the best bits of food were served up to them on silver platters.

Captain Flint had Bridget Sawyer, a fifth year, and Heather Duke, a sixth year, giving him all kinds of personal attention. They held his fork and knife, feeding him as though he were a king.

Harry enjoyed the festivities, squeezed on the same seat with Sadie. Though he wouldn't let anyone feed him, Tracy kept his goblet filled, and Daphne brought him food. People all around him drank, ate, and laughed a lot; good friends had a very good time.

00O00

Harry and Sadie still visited Hagrid, although none of their friends would accompany them to see a half-giant.

Harry knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut. "Coming!" he called out over Fang's barking. After a couple of minutes, the big man opened the door. "Oh, 'allo there. Great ter see yer both. Stayin' outta trouble, I hope."

"Of course!" Harry said instantly.

"Well, don't jest stan' out there. Come in."

They sat down at Hagrid's table, and the half-giant poured tea. He passed around a plate of his awful rock cakes. Fang, of course, went right to Sadie for some petting.

There was a rattling sound from the fireplace.

"What was that noise?" Sadie asked, not looking up from Fang. The rattle came again, like iron clacking on iron.

"It's nothin'," Hagrid said. "Jus' the wind rattlin' this shaky ol' place."

"It's coming from the fireplace," Harry said.

He peered into the fireplace, under the pot that sat above the burning coals.

"A huge egg?"

"What?" Sadie stood up and peered in the fire as well. "Hagrid!" she half-shouted. "What are you doing with one of those?"

"What is it?" Harry asked. Hagrid looked sheepish.

"It's a dragon egg," Sadie told him. "Hagrid… how could you be such a fool? Breeding dragons is illegal! It's a direct violation of the Warlock's Convention of Seventeen-oh-nine. Don't you care what kind of trouble this means?"

"Would yer tell on me?" said Hagrid.

"Of course not, but what'll you do if someone else sees it?"

"Where'd you get a dragon egg, Hagrid?" Asked Harry.

"Won it," he muttered, very embarrassed. "Las' night I were down in the village havin' me a few drinks. Got into a card game with a stranger, an' he put it up fer stakes. Lucky draw I got, three kings an' a pair o' sevens, so I took the egg. I think he were quite glad ter be rid of it, but me, I'm happier 'n' a clam."

Sadie put her hands to her hips. "What are you going to do when it hatches?" She demanded. "Keep it in here…? Hagrid, you live in a wooden house!"

"I bin doin' some readin'," Hagrid said, ignoring the admonition and pulling a book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding For Pleasure and Profit. It's an older book, teh be sure, but that sort'a information dinae go bad. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, yeh feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how to recognize diff'rent breeds an' diff'rent eggs. This one I gots here is a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

"Rare, yes. Also the fiercest," said Sadie, rolling her eyes.

"It's hatchin'" said Hagrid, bringing the egg from the fireplace. The shell cracked and the baby dragon emerged. It looked more than anything like a spiny black umbrella, with massive wings and a spindly little body. It had yellowish eyes and when it sneezed, sparks flew from its nostrils.

"Aww… so cute," said Sadie, putting her hands to her green mask. "Wish he was mine."

"You're a good gel," said Hagrid fondly. "I'll call him Norbert."

Sadie peered closely at the dragon. "Hagrid, that's a girl dragon. Watch." She held her little hand near the dragon and it snapped at her. "They're feisty."

"I'll call 'er Norberta, then. Norberta. Norberta. There, she knows her mummy."

Harry rolled his eyes. Had they both gone nuts?

"Remember, Hagrid can't keep an illegal dragon in a wooden house."

Sadie blinked. "Of course not." She hesitated. "Hagrid, dear… could we collect some poop? Or venom? Dragons are such great beasts, aren't they? So – so magical."

"Anythin' for a won'erful gel who knows her dragons," said Hagrid, his beard bristling as he beamed at her.

At that moment, there was a chill in the air, even though the fire was roaring. The baby dragon gave a tiny, growling noise.

Hagrid looked out of the window. "What's happenin'? Fog? Now?"

There was indeed fog pressing against the windows. The wind was howling … there were eerie voices on the wind. Fog was pressing in all around the hut.

Sadie looked up in alarm. "Something's wrong."

"But what?"

"I think I know… this is Dark Magic. But its all around us!"


	18. Fog in the Forest

The wind outside howled. Harry thought he could hear evil voices on it. The pearly light shining from the white mist through the windows shimmered on Sadie's weird green face as she stared into it.

"Dark Magic?" said Harry slowly. "Has something been going on involving Dark Magic?"

Hagrid nodded gravely. "'Fraid so, Harry. Summat's been attackin' the unicorns. I found one in a real bad state the other day. Dumbledore reckons some kind of nasty is after them. Summat really powerful."

"Oh great," said Harry.

Sadie patted his arm. "We'll be alright if we stick together and make for the castle, dear."

"We can' leave Norberta. She's too little. She'd die," said Hagrid.

Sadie's green face was as masklike as ever, but her voice quivered slightly with emotion. "Yes, Hagrid. We'll have to carry her. Don't you have a fireproof basket?"

"Yeah, got one made of dragon-hide," said Hagrid smugly.

Hagrid emerged from the hut into the fog, followed by Harry and Sadie. Hagrid carried the tiny dragon in a dragon-hide basket, and Fang trotted at their heels.

Hagrid was lighting the way with his lantern. Harry shuddered at the damp feel of the mist. He was grateful when Sadie slipped her little hand in his and shot him a sympathetic look through the eyeholes in her mask.

"Yeh can both trust ole Hagrid to lead yeh righ'," said Hagrid as he led the way.

But could they? Instead of leading them to the castle, the half-giant seemed to have led them among some trees.

Harry groaned and flicked his wand, sending the burst of light forward to help them navigate. Hagrid was getting ahead of them. Harry himself had to go quite slowly so that Sadie could keep pace with him – her legs were even shorter than his. Fortunately, Hagrid stopped soon and they caught up. He was bent over a pool of silvery blue liquid.

"Hagrid," Harry started, voice low, "What is that?"

"Unicorn blood. There's go' to be one round here that's been hurt bad."

"Oh!" Sadie put her hands to her green face and then rummaged through the pockets in her robes. "Aha!" She took out a little glass flask.

"What're you doin' Sadie?"

"Pardon me guys… but this is the only chance I have to collect some unicorn blood without hurting a unicorn, which is something I would never do. The Darkness itself must have given me this chance. There is an important Dark element to unicorn blood. I just know it."

Hagrid mumbled something and looked away as Sadie scooped up silvery blood in her flask.

They went on and as they trudged through the forest, they saw other splashes of silver-blue blood on the path and tree roots.

Then they arrived in a clearing and came to a halt. A unicorn was lying there, quietly huffing. It was alive, only barely, it's eyes were closed and it was making quiet, pitiful noises between its laboured breathing. Its side was split and there was... something there. They stared in horror, transfixed to the spot, and watched as whatever the creature was, lap at the unicorn blood.

Harry felt bile rise in his throat and his head was pounding terribly. He stumbled in place and dropped his wand, his hands rising up to press against his temples as his vision started to blur. He heard Fang the boarhound whimper and then bolt. He felt Sadie's little arms grabbing his shoulders.

"Harry, Harry!" He tried to focus on her green face in front of him, but there was a searing pain in his scar.

"Oh no, yeh don'."

Hagrid strode forward, ready to take the figure on. There was a weird, drawn out hiss, a thin growling noise and Hagrid bellowed and there was a blinding flash and Hagrid fell to the ground.

Sadie's hands were on Harry's forehead and she was gabbling a lot of strange syllables in her shrill voice. Then there was the thundering of hooves and a centaur jumped out of the woods and into the clearing. It - no, he - brandished his hooves at the creature. It flinched back, and seemed to glance directly at Harry. The pain in his head reached such a pitch that he retched. Sadie had a skinny little arm around him and she was brandishing her wand with her other hand. She screamed an incantation and fired a jet of purple light at the creature, which glided away into the trees…

The centaur walked up to the kids, as Harry slowly came back to himself. Two little arms were wrapped around him tight, and Sadie's masked face was pressed against his shoulder.

"Harry Potter." The centaur intoned, more like he was discovering some great secret than acknowledging Harry. "The forest is not safe for you at this time. Come with me."

"Noble Centaur, shining example to us all, please, take us out of here," begged Sadie. She sounded near tears. "Um… Hagrid's hurt."

The centaur went up to Hagrid and slapped his face until the half-giant sat up and groaned.

"There. The one known as Hagrid is strong. He is not seriously hurt. And yet I see the remains of a baby dragon. That terrible creature must have killed it."

Hagrid let out a long moan.

"Oh, Hagrid!" said Sadie. She would probably have run over to him then, but before she could, both kids were lifted bodily and placed on the centaur's back, and Sadie was just barely able to snatch up Harry's wand from the forest floor before they were off. They dashed at high speeds through the forest, Sadie clinging to Harry tight. Harry could hear her sniffling.

Outside the forest, the chilly mist had dissolved and the sun was out again. The kids slid off the centaurs back and two more centaurs darted out of the woods. One of them - a dark coloured stallion – verbally berated Firenze – their centaur - about letting humans ride on him as though he were a common mule.

"Did you not see that unicorn, Bane?" stormed Firenze. "Do you not know why it was killed. I pit myself against that evil roaming the forest, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."

The third centaur, a chestnut stallion, pawed at the ground. "I'm sure Firenze thought he acted for the best," he said in a sorrowful voice.

"For the best, Ronan? What is that to centaurs?" demanded Bane of the chestnut centaur. "We are concerned only with what is foretold." Muttering darkly, he shook his shaggy head and galloped to the forest.

"T-Thank you so much for rescuing us," said Sadie.

Firenze inclined his head.

"Do you both know what unicorn blood is for?"

"I can make a good guess about why that thing was drinking unicorn blood," said Sadie in a quavering voice. "Unicorn blood prolongs life, regardless of any injury."

"That is correct," said Firenze. "But it is a monstrous thing to slay a unicorn. And the blood grants only a half-life. A cursed life."

So did unicorn blood have Dark Magic in it then? Harry didn't know what it was all supposed to mean. He could understand why Sadie was interested in gathering unicorn blood now, though. It sounded like Dark Healing. Her special interest.

Firenze turned to Harry. "The stars have been read wrong before, Harry Potter. Even by centaurs. I hope that this is one of those times. Do not come back to the Forest at this time. Go back to the castle. Don't worry about Hagrid, he is perfectly alright. He will grieve for the dragon only until some other dangerous beast gains his attention. Now go, both of you. Farewell."

They nodded, stammering thanks, and hurried back to the castle.

00O00

Back in Slytherin House, Harry and Sadie found some privacy on Harry's bed with the curtains drawn.

"This is terrible," said Sadie, her eyes looking wide and fearful through the eyeholes in her mask. "I think I know who may be after the Elixir now."

Harry was baffled. "But who-?"

"It's a short list, but Harry… I'm terrified that it may be… him! You Know Who. I wish I was wrong, but a lot of strange things this year are starting to add up."

Harry gave a little start at the mention of You Know Who.

"How'd you piece that together, Sadie?"

She shook her head, her purple hair rippling and bouncing. "Killing unicorns… trying to steal the Elixir… the greatest evil wizard in Britain for a hundred years. Thought to be dead, but who heard of a wizard like that who died so easily? All this sort of narrows it down."

He held her little hands in his. She felt strangely cold after being out in the mist. "Sadie… your trembling."

"I'm most afraid for you, Harry. What if I am right? Whatever happens, this'll make me ill worrying."

"Oh, you silly thing." Harry gathered her up in his arms. Her cold, mannequin cheek rested against his.

"I'm afraid that monster did have his supporters from our house," she murmured. "From Gryffindor and Ravenclaw too, but our house has the stigma of the most Death Eaters. Unthinkable though it is, some thought he had the right ideas. Not every Slytherin can be trusted anymore."

"You're jumping to the worst case scenario, Sadie," said Harry. "We can talk about it with our friends, but only so long as we don't let it get gossiped around."

00O00

The first year Slytherins were gathered in the boys dormitory. Now, after dinner, was the only free time they all had. While Harry had been impatient to share his new knowledge with his friends, there hadn't been time to address the issue thoroughly. Together in the privacy of the dorm, he and Sadie told the others what had happened in the forest. They told about Firenze, the unicorn, and the shadowy figure that had tried to attack them. They left out Sadie's suspicions about Voldemort.

"We'll tell Professor Snape," Draco decided.

"Utterly preposterous," Theo objected. "He may be after the Stone himself."

"He's no more guilty of that than I am," Millie declared.

"And you have ironclad proof, I suppose, Theo? Do you?" Pansy asked sarcastically.

Tracy brushed her blond hair away from her face. "I can't conceive of how it could or would be Snape. It must be Quirrell who is up to no good."

"So what do we do?" Daphne asked. "We're stuck in the middle."

"We go to the Headmaster," Theo said. A volley of protests met that suggestion. "Quiet," he said, raising his voice to be heard. "I don't think much of the Muggle Lover either, but Dumbledore is said to be the greatest wizard of our age."

"So long as Dumbledore is here, who would dare to come after the Stone?" Tracy said, "and there's still the matter of the magical defences. Anyone who wants to grab it for themselves for their own ambitions would have to work out how to get past those defences, now wouldn't they?"

Harry had his arms around Sadie, and she shifted at those words.

"We don't know the obstacles," said Millie, "but you can bet that Snape would never tell Quirrell how to solve his test, whatever it is."

"The Stone is safe," Harry decided, "but we should go to Dumbledore anyway. I think he ought to hear what the centaur told us. Someone's after the Stone"

Pansy scoffed. "I'm sure he already knows that. Why do you think the Stone was moved here from Gringotts? Don't forget: they have dragons at Gringotts."

They all considered that.

"Pansy is right, too," Draco said. "What are we going to tell Dumbledore that he doesn't already know?"

"So what do we do?" Millie asked, kicking at the leg of her desk.

"We can't do anything," Daphne answered. "We just have to trust Dumbledore to take care of it."

Harry sighed. "I suppose... Who could take care of the Stone better?"

"Probably no one," Theo agreed. He pulled out his Potions text. "Now then, I think we've about exhausted this conversation. Harry, tell me about root of asphodel."

00O00

Believing that Dumbledore had the situation under control, they didn't let it bother them anymore. Harry had managed to shake off the worry that Voldemort was lurking right around the corner ready to snatch the Stone and murder him in the night. After their conversation, the Slytherins devoted all of their non-classroom time to studying.

Their exams took place beginning the following Monday. With summer well-started, the heat was mildly uncomfortable, more so in the large classroom where they sat the written examinations for all of their subjects. They had been given special quills enchanted with an Anti-Cheating Charm just for the occasion.

In addition to the written tests, they had practical examinations. Professor Flitwick called them into his classroom one at a time to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across his desk. Old McGonagall watched them with a steely gaze as they attempted to turn a fieldmouse into a snuffbox. Points were given for how pretty the box was, but taken away if it still had whiskers. Professor Snape's exam was a bit ironic. They had to remember how to brew a Forgetfulness Potion.

Their final exam was on Wednesday, and Harry cheered with his friends when Professor Binns instructed them to lay down their quills and roll up their parchment. The agonizing hour of answering questions about batty old wizards and goblin uprisings was ended, and they were free, gloriously free, for a whole week until their marks came back.

"That was much easier than I thought," he heard Hermione saying as the crowds of students made their way out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the uprising of Elfric the Eager or the Sixteen-thirty-seven Werewolf Code of Conduct."

Sadie covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggling.

Hermione talking about exams afterwards made Harry queasy. He'd studied as much as he could stomach for this exam, and still he feared what sort of mark he would receive. He looked over at Draco and tipped his head in Granger's direction. Harry rolled his eyes, prompting Draco to smile.

Outside, the first years lounged about in the warm June weather. They sprawled about in the shade under a tree. Down by the lake they could see the terrible Weasley twins tickling the tentacles of the giant squid.

"I hope it eats them," Draco said, aimlessly pulling apart blades of grass. "Couldn't happen to more chaotic people."

Confident that Dumbledore had everything well taken care of, they'd let the matter of the Philosopher's Stone drop in favour of studying and preparing and revising. Now that too was behind them, and they were free to just be kids again. They made small talk about nothing at all. They played games. The afternoon was very lazy and indulgent. It was finally drawing towards teatime when Harry felt intense pain in his scar. He clapped his hands to his forehead with a startled exclamation.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Sadie asked. She cupped Harry's face in her hands and stared into his eyes.

"My scar," he breathed through the pain. "Burning."

"Really?" said Draco, raising his eyebrows.

"It's been fine 'til now!" Theo said. "Why is it hurting all of a sudden?"

Harry felt like he was back in his nightmares. All he could think about was the shadow man - Voldemort! - who was after the Stone. He rubbed at his scar, trying to ease the pain. "It's a warning," he said sure without knowing why. "Danger is coming."

Pansy was eyeing him suspiciously. "You sound strange, Harry. Maybe you should go to Madam Pomfrey."

He shook his head. "I'm not ill," he said. "I can't stay in the hospital wing." Indeed he could not. Voldemort was coming. Harry could not let him get the Stone.


	19. Race to the Stone

"I have good reason to believe Quirrell can get past Fluffy," Harry said. He took off for Hagrid's hut with his friends trying to catch up.

"Hagrid, open up!" Harry half-shouted, pounding on the door. "We need to talk to you!"

"'Lo Harry," Hagrid said, opening the wooden door as the other Slytherins crowded round Harry.

Sadie caught up. With her short legs, she was the slowest.

"How have you been, Hagrid?" she said anxiously, turning her shiny green face up to look at him.

Harry had noticed that Hagrid had built up some kind of fantasy relationship with the little dragon in his head, and in the fallout of losing her, he had made a show of grieving.

"Hold on… We have something to ask you, now. It's urgent," Harry said. "Have you told anyone about Fluffy?"

Hagrid frowned. "What would yeh be wantin' ter know that fer? I ain't told anyone… 'cept a weirdo in a hooded cloak down at the Hogs Head recen'ly."

Beside Harry, Sadie gave a groan.

"Recently?" Daphne pounced on his words. "So, you have met someone in a hooded cloak? When?"

"Back when I won poor Norberta in the card game," he said. "I didn' think much of it; lots o' folk in the Hog's Head keep their hoods up. It's no' a firs' class place, but then there's no card playin' in the Three Broomsticks."

"The egg!" Theo exclaimed. "Of course, how could we have been so stupid! It was no random encounter. Hagrid, you always wanted a dragon more than anything, right? And this character just happens to have one?"

"Did you talk to him, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "Did you say anything about the school?"

"I might've," Hagrid said, his eyes floating. "I tol' 'im what I do; he asked about the creatures I keep. I mentioned wantin' a dragon ever since I were a boy." He frowned, looking as though he were thinking very hard. "It's all kinda fuzzy. He kept buyin' me drinks, yeh know? Well once I tol' 'im about the dragon, 'e shows me this egg 'e 'as and would I like to play cards for it. Double-checked to make sure I could 'andle it, 'e did. I tol' 'him, after handlin' Fluffy, a dragon would be easy."

"Was he interested in Fluffy?" Millie pressed him.

"Oh yeah, o' course he were. S'not often yeh get teh hear about a three-headed dog. I tol' 'im, Fluffy's a real sweetheart if yeh just play 'im some music; he'll go right teh sleep."

"That's it!" Draco cried.

Sadie drew a sharp intake of breath.

Hagrid looked horrified. "No!" he exclaimed. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he sputtered. "Forget that, please! Hey, where yeh goin'?"

"Where's Dumbledore's office?" Harry shouted as they ran. "He needs to hear about this!"

Nobody knew where the office was. None of the other teachers were to be found either. The corridors seemed to be filled with a pearly mist, and Harry had the sensation he was wading through it. "I'm getting a horrible sense of déjà vu," murmured Sadie. "Remember the fog in the forest? An advanced kind of Confundus spell."

"Are the teachers all gone?" wondered Daphne. "Weird."

"Super-weird," said Pansy.

"Where, oh where, can they all be?" said Tracy dramatically, her eyes widening.

One teacher, Harry knew, was plotting to get past Fluffy and steal the Philosopher's Stone. It was all going so terribly wrong. "We've gotta think," he told Sadie. He loved her so much, that he had just begun to copy how she expressed herself. Sadie was the Slytherin who said 'gotta' and 'gonna.'

The two of them left their friends and went down to the dungeons and into his dorm room and sat on Harry's bed.

They put their faces close together and whispered.

"It's Voldemort, and this time he's Confunding the whole school as a distraction, so he can go after the Stone. Have the teachers left? Or has he imprisoned them? We can't wait around."

"I know we can't." Through the holes in her green mask, Sadie's blue eyes were wide and fearful. "I was afraid of something like this, ever since the Forest. I've been making experimental weapons of Dark Magic, specially for when You Know Who reared his evil head."

"You are a smart girl," said Harry, hugging her to him, his chin resting on her purple and green head. She hugged him back. They sat in silence for a moment. "Wish we could trust our friends with the truth," he remarked. "But we have to make it sound like it's just Quirrell being greedy."

Sadie gave a little sigh. "It's sad, but if You Know Who were here today… I honestly don't know where their loyalties would all lie. Doesn't mean they can't help us, though."

Harry supposed she was right.

"I'm gonna prepare," said Sadie. "Then we have to foil Quirrell. We have to go after the Stone, and we have to get there first."

Sadie went to her secret lair where she dabbled in Dark Magic. It was somewhere buried deep underground, below the bottom of the inverted tower of the girls' dorms. That was where she had cooked up the experiment that had disfigured her face, giving her the look of permanently having two hundred layers of green face paint on. Eventually,

Finally, she re-joined him as the bell tolled curfew and they found their friends. "I'm going after the Stone," Harry said. "It's the only way to keep it safe. I can't shake this feeling that it's not protected anymore."

"Harry's right, you know," said Sadie. She was carrying a little satchel made of purple leather. Her next words were obviously chosen carefully. "Um… that idiot Quirrell thinks he's so clever, but he's just greedy to steal what he can't earn, and doesn't deserve. Wouldn't it be great to humiliate him? I wanna be in on it. What about you?"

Draco got to his feet. "Why not? I'm going too as it happens. That makes all the difference."

"Me as well," Theo said. "That's four of us."

"Crabbe and Goyle go where I go," said Draco smugly. "You actually meant six."

"You're not going without me," Tracy said grandly.

"Someone has to keep an eye on Theo," Pansy said obnoxiously.

"And someone needs to make sure you two don't kill each other," Millie laughed. "Count me in."

"Daphne?" Tracy asked.

Daphne shrugged. "The more the merrier."

Harry didn't object. He knew that he had to go. If his friends all wanted to come with him, he had to trust them to know their business and take care of themselves. He still felt bad that he and could only really trust Sadie and had to lie to the other eight Slytherins by not mentioning Voldemort's name. He wordlessly led them out into the corridor, and up to the third floor. For the whole walk they were silent, Harry scouting ahead in his wonderful cloak of invisibility. Finally, they were before the forbidden door.

"Music soothes the savage beast," Theo reminded them, "so we start singing as soon as the door opens. Got it?"

"Alohomora! " Millie opened the lock. She pulled it open, and they scurried inside.

Fluffy was just as huge as Harry remembered. All three heads locked onto them, three horrible noses sniffing at them, three rumbling growls warning them away.

The Slytherins all began to sing in their favourite songs in their different voices. Sadie was highest and her voice was shrill. Crabbe's voice was deep for his age.

Fluffy tottered from side to side and then fell to his knees before slumping to the ground. Snores began to drown out their singing, and they knew he was asleep. The dog's hot breath washed over them, and drool slipped from his mouths.

Harry looked around. Other than the way they had come in, there appeared to be no exit from the room. He glanced at his friends and gestured to the four walls. Theo shrugged. Draco looked puzzled.

"There!" Harry spied the trapdoor. He tugged at the iron ring, but couldn't budge it. Crabbe and Goyle nudged him out of the way and lifted it easily. The hole it revealed was dark and foreboding.

"No stairs," Harry said, pitching his voice under the singing, which had begun anew.

Draco peered down into the darkness. ""Test it out, Goyle."

"Wait, hang on!" said Sadie, but without further ado, Goyle hopped lightly into the square of blackness and vanished from sight. "Yar!"

Sadie winced and hurried over to the edge, Harry following her.

"Goyle!" Harry and Sadie both called down. "Goyle, are you alright?"

"I've landed on a plant, I think," his voice echoed up to them. "'s soft."

Crabbe shrugged and hopped down too. Theo leapt in after him. The girls jumped as well. Finally, only Harry and Draco were left.

"Jumping into blackness like this is …," Draco said, "so undignified. Yah!" He dove down into the darkness. Harry followed without a word. He landed on some sort of plant, just as Goyle had said. He made a muffled, funny-sounding thump as he landed. All around him was gloom and darkness.

"Someone make a light," Harry called out.

" Lumos! " Tracy said. Then she shrieked. "Get out of here!"

The light revealed a huge plant with vines and tendrils everywhere. Subtly, sneakily, vines had crept up in the darkness and ensnared them. Now, as they realized their predicament, they tried to free themselves, but the creepers bound them faster the harder they struggled. Sadie was already mummified in the tendrils of the plant.

"It's Devil's Snare!" Theo shouted. "It likes damp and dark! We need light and heat!" He arched back as the vines went for his throat.

" Incendio! " Pansy shouted, having managed to draw her wand. Bright orange flames leapt from the tip, lighting all over the plant. Instantly the creeper vines began to retreat, wriggling and flailing to escape. One by one, they each pulled themselves free of the loosening vines and onto stone floor.

"Good work, Pansy," Theo said. "For once you did something right."

Sadie gasped as Harry helped her to her feet. He stroked her long, purple hair and kissed her cold, green cheek. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him back.

The only way forward was down the sloping stone passageway. Apart from their footsteps, all they could hear was the sound of their own breathing and the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The light at the end of the corridor beckoned to them, and they could extinguish their wandlight.

"What's that sound?" Pansy asked.

As they strained their ears, a fluttering, rustling, clinking sound could be heard from up ahead. It came from a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above their heads. It was filled with small birds, bright like jewels, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite wall, they could see a plain, heavy wooden door. They stood at the entrance to the room, considering.

"Chances of being attacked by birds if we step into this room?" Draco asked lightly.

"Probably fairly high," Theo mused. He drew his wand and pointed it at the far door. "I think we're too far away, but Alohomora! " A jet of white light shot from the tip of his wand, but fell short of the door. "One of us has to go out there."

"I will," Tracy said confidently. "I can unlock that door." Without waiting for anyone to object, she darted into the light-filled room, running across the smooth stone floor to the heavy wooden door. Only Sadie objected as it happened, calling shrilly at her not to be so dumb. However, it was quite safe. No birds made a motion towards the blond girl. "I think it's safe to come this far."

"You open the door," Draco said easily. "We'll just watch and approve from over here."

She stuck her tongue out at him and cast the spell on the door. Though the lock flared with white light, the handle stubbornly refused to turn. "Looks like we have to find another way," she said.

The others meandered into the room. Theo gazed up at the open space where all the birds fluttered around in a lazy manner. He looked deep in thought.

"There's got to be some sort of connection," he mumbled, scratching his chin. "They wouldn't be here if they didn't have a purpose."

The birds were tiny, rather hard to see. They soared overhead, glittering in the torchlight.

Millie groaned. "Oh, by Merlin's robes, it's so obvious! What kind of bird is all sparkly like that? Look closely. They're not birds at all; they're keys! Winged keys!"

Sadie clapped her hands together and grinned. "How smart, Millie."

They peered up at the birds, straining their eyes. One by one, they each nodded at the truth of Millie's words.

"Well if they've got wings, there's got to be a way to get up there and nab it," Daphne reasoned. She investigated the darker corners. "Ah hah! Broomsticks! We've got to fly up and catch the key to the door."

"Harry can do that easily!" Tracy said enthusiastically.

"No, I want to fly," Theo said firmly.

"But I can get that key," Harry protested. He loved to fly and catching the correct key would be simplicity itself.

"So can I," Draco said, picking up a broomstick. "Hey, a Nimbus Nineteen-hundred, not too shabby." He mounted and kicked off.

Draco could fly, Harry had no illusions about that. Now that he had a decent quality broomstick under him, he was able to show off some moves that simply weren't possible with the rubbish school brooms. Draco made quick changes to his course, flying his broom with speed and skill. He would have made an excellent Seeker, Harry thought.

"There's too many of them!" Draco called down to them. "We'll be forever catching and trying them all."

Pansy examined the lock. "Look for a silver key to match the lock, big and old-fashioned, like the keys for Malfoy Manor."

Harry chafed at not being permitted to go up into the air. He felt at home there, and he knew he would never fall off. He'd managed to stay on a jinxed broom, after all. Could Draco say the same?

The keys were a very interesting defence for the Stone. There were hundreds of them, and they all darted and dived so quickly that catching one was extremely hard. Once you caught one and it wasn't the right key, you had to let it go to wander back out and mingle with the others.

"I've caught this key already!" Draco shouted angrily. Clearly, they needed a new plan.

Harry grabbed the other broom. He mounted and kicked off before anyone could stop him. He was the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things that others could not. He wove through the whirling cloud of glittering rainbow feathers and saw a largish silver key that gave him a good feeling.

"There!" he said, pointing. "That big silver one with the bright blue wings."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

"Good enough for me," Draco said, zooming by. "Now get to ground."

"No way," Harry responded, leaning low over his broom and taking off after Draco.

"Harry, knock it off," Draco called to him as they chased after the key. Through the ceiling beams they flew, left and right, up and down, back and front and all around. The flock of keys started zooming around after the boys, seemingly enchanted to protect the one key.

"No! I can get that key!" Harry suddenly felt the desire to stand out, to prove that he didn't need protection. Here in the air, he was in his element, and nothing could stop him.

They were neck and neck now, both reaching out for the key, which fluttered along in front of them just like a Snitch. Harry flashed back to the times they'd played pick-up games of Quidditch and remembered that Draco had been limited by the inferior broom. He reached out his hand just a little further.

Draco bumped his broom into Harry's. "Sorry!" he called.

Harry didn't answer, but leaned so low that he was practically hugging his broomstick. He stretched his hand just a fraction of an inch further, and managed to hook a finger through the ring of the key.

"Got it!" he shouted happily. He slowed up, and the pursuing flock of keys immediately swarmed him. His broom sank steadily towards the floor. "Gah, geroff, stupid birds."

The instant the key was placed in the lock, the other keys flew off. Once it was turned, and the door unlocked, the key took flight again, looking a little battered and abused now that it had been caught. One of the wings was bent, and it couldn't fly straight anymore.

"Ready?" Harry asked, looking at the unhappy faces of his friends. Sadie was glaring. "What?"

Sadie ran up to him and did a flying leap hug, the kind that took the form of her pouncing on him. He picked her up and hugged her tight so that she squeaked.

Tracy quickly hugged the pair of them. "Harry, that was so reckless!"

"It was something a Gryffindor would do," Pansy said, her voice half-sneering.

As soon as they stepped into the dark chamber, the door slammed shut behind them and torchlight suddenly flooded the room, blinding them, but revealing an astonishing sight.

They stood on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black pieces, which were all taller than they, and carved from onyx. Across the way were the white pieces, spooky and ominous; creepy, for the flickering torchlight revealed that the white chessmen had no faces.

"This is brill," Theo enthused. "I could go for one of these in the backyard."

"Now what?" Millie asked.

"Unless I am wrong, and I am never wrong," Theo said, ignoring Pansy's snort of derision, "we have to play our way across the board. We've got to defeat the opposing army to reach, yes, see that door behind white pieces?"

Draco grimaced. "If only Niles were down here. He'd wipe the board clean in five minutes flat."

"Well he's not here," Daphne said. "That leaves Theo as our resident chesspert."

Theo started. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Harry chimed in. "You taught me a lot about the game. You can do this; I know it."

"I taught you the basics, Harry. Something like this," he gestured, "is liable to be far beyond my poor skill."

"Stop being modest," Pansy told him crossly. "You can do this. Just don't think about it and play it as though it were any other game."

Theo nodded his head slowly. "All right. I'll do it. But how? White moves first, and those pieces aren't going anywhere."

"Join us." The words shocked them, because none of the boys could have produced a voice that deep and powerful. They looked up into the shining eyes of the black king.

"You mean we have to take the place of some of your pieces?" Tracy asked. The black king nodded solemnly.

"Right," Theo said decisively, slipping into his appropriate mindset. "Crabbe and Goyle, go to the corners and replace the rooks. Next to them, Pansy and Millie will be our knights. Draco, Daphne, you two replace the bishops."

"And I get to be the queen?" Tracy inquired perkily.

"Harry will be the king. He gets to pick who he wants as his queen." Theo was not really looking at them. He studied the board, probably playing out possible sequences of moves in his head.

"Sadie," said Harry. Sadie grinned and took his hand. Harry would feel better with her by his side. Tracy pouted.

"Where will you be, Theo?" Harry asked him.

Theo looked directly at Harry, very serious. "I'll be standing here. I will be the Chessmaster. Tracy can help. Just as well she's so smart."

The back row cleared of pieces, and the Slytherins took their places. There was silence for a moment, then the pawn moved to King Four.

Theo's directions were crisp, clear, and blunt. No one argued with him. Chess was not played by committee. He directed the black pieces around the board. The pawns, the only remaining onyx figures, were silent as they obeyed orders.

It was quite a shock when the first piece was taken. Their pawn thrust out with a spear and pierced the white pawn, which dropped its stone sword. Shattered stone chips flew as the piece was destroyed - just like in real wizard chess. Theo visibly gulped. Sadie looked grim, as far as her expression was readable through her mask.

He played defensively, as he was keen to protect his friends. He moved the pawns forward, moving significant pieces up each in turn to guard them. He captured opposing pieces with the pawns, regretting each one of his own that was taken, for each loss further exposed his friends to danger. Finally, only four pawns were left.

Theo had done well, taking more a quarter of the white pieces. The chessboard was littered with the rubble and dust of the destroyed marble statues. His own pieces were arrayed for defence. He could not press for the white king without losing some of his more valuable pieces. That meant his friends would get hurt, but if he continued to play defensively, he would soon start to lose them anyway.

A drop of sweat rolled down his face. The unseen Chessmaster was good, in fact, brilliant. Every move had a countermove, blocking Theo on everything he tried to do. It was as though the essence of many great Masters had been distilled and imbued in the magic of the board. How could he beat that?

He studied the board intently, taking his time. There was no timeclock in this match. The white pieces were scattered, excepting three protecting the king.

The king was blocked. Theo looked again. The king was still blocked - trapped, unable to move in three directions. Had he found a weakness? Was that the key? He traced the sequence in his mind. Two moves. It was right there. He stared wild-eyed at the board, sure it was a trap. The opposing Chessmaster was too good for that. It had to be a trick!

But there was nothing presently in position to trap a piece that moved into that region. Only the last white rook could be moved into position to defend the square that Sadie could step into to checkmate the king. His eyes fell on Pansy. She was in perfect position to intercept that rook, and she would be sacrificed. Theo bit his lip. He had to do it. There was no other way to win.

"Knight to King's Knight Four," he said in a small voice. He didn't feel very good about himself right then.

"Theo!" Sadie said, startled. "That'll put her right-"

"I know!" Theo burst out. "I know! But she has to do it. It blocks the rook and leaves Tracy free to check the king. It's the only way to win."

Pansy looked very scared. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at the massive, solid rook. "I can see the moves, and he's right. If I'm taken, the game is over." Her voice trembled and face was green as Sadie's.

"Don't be dumb," said Sadie sharply. "You're not getting hurt. This is tricky, yes, but I have a trick up my sleeve."

"No!" Theo shouted. "Don't move! You can't, or we lose even more!"

Sadie put a finger to the lips of her mask. "I'm not moving. I've discovered a loophole that works by Dark Magic. One of my experiments has worked."

"Oh no, I'm not sticking an ugly mask on my face, or anything else crazy," said Pansy. She was weeping.

"I'm not asking you to," said Sadie. "Stay still." She reached into her satchel and took out a weird, pink blob of slime. She chucked it over to Pansy's square. A red lump burst out of the pink blob like some internal organ poking out. It slithered over to the rook.

The rook came to life, morphing from a stone tower to a rock monster. It raised one horrible hand and slapped at the blob, squishing it, so that only a pool of slime remained.

"Argh!" Sadie gritted her teeth. Her experiment was done for.

"Quickly," Theo said. "Sadie, run up and stand a square away from the king."

Sadie ran. She set foot inside the square. "Checkmate!" Theo called, running to Pansy's side.

Pansy's sniffling ceased. She lifted her head and looked right at Theo. "You'll stay with me?" she said in a small, scared voice. "I don't like this game anymore."

The king's greatsword, which he had been resting his hands on, point down, fell loose and crashed to the board. He reached up and removed his crown, dropping it on the board at the feet of the green faced girl. The game was over.

"I think Pansy's had enough," said Theo tenderly, putting an arm around them. Tracy raised her eyebrows. Sadie smiled at the sight of the two of them in each other's arms. Harry was kind of glad too. Despite them always quarrelling, they now admitted how much they meant to each other.

"Yeah," said Draco. "You two go back. And Crabbe… you go and try and find some teachers. Wherever they've cleared off to, they're not total dummies. We've got to get them to help."

Crabbe nodded and opened the door back into the key room. Now that the chessmen had been conquered, the door stayed open. Theo and Pansy followed him. Harry, Sadie, Draco, Millie, Daphne, Tracy, and Goyle all walked towards the far door. They emerged into another stone corridor, a respite before the next challenge.

A disgusting odour wafted out at them when Harry pushed open the door at the end of this hallway. He tried not to gag. He held his nose and took shallow breaths. Tracy pulled her robes up over her face.

"Eurgh!" she said, retching.

Harry and Draco turned to each other with long expressions.

"You don't think- ?" Draco said, his voice filled with dread.

"I've seen too much tonight to dismiss anything," Harry replied. "Smells just like the one we tangled with on Halloween."

"Don't remind me," said Sadie, her mask twitching as her face beneath contorted.

"You two were foolish to go after it in the first place," Tracy told him.

"So Snape told me," Harry said with a grin, "and so Draco objected at the time. And so Sadie was furious."

Sadie cleared her throat and touched her deformed face. Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"I object to this as well," Draco said, "but I can't see that we have any other choice."

"Let's get a look."

Harry, Sadie and Draco peered into the room, trying not to breathe. It was a mountain troll all right, even bigger and uglier than the last one. It, too, carried a huge club. Unfortunately, they did not see any other suitable objects for bashing it on the head.

"What spells do we know that would be useful?" Harry asked.

"We can take his club away like Theo did. Trolls are pretty resistant to direct magic. Don't have any objections this time, do you Sadie? Any more outlandish experiments in mind?"

"Draco!" Harry dug him in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"No, Draco," said Sadie softly. "I've had time to think and the levitation charm that we learned in our first term is enough to deal with a troll."

"We can snatch the club then," said Draco.

"That's only one weapon," said Harry.

"It's all we have," said Sadie.

"So, who gets to do it?" Said Draco.

"I will," Tracy said. "I'm the best at the Levitation Charm."

"She is," Harry said.

"Then it's settled," Draco agreed.

Tracy put her head to the crack in the door. "Oh my God. You boys really are idiots. I know I said so before, and I meant it, but now that I'm actually seeing one for myself, I need to say it again. What on Earth were you thinking last Halloween?"

Harry and Draco looked sheepishly at each other.

"We tried to stop Theo," Harry said.

"Not hard enough. And look what happened to my dear Sadie as a result of your stupidity. I can't believe I'm going to do this. The club. Focus on the club. Wingardium leviosa! "

Though they could not see it happen, the meaty thunk of the club hitting the troll's head was very distinct, and the roar of pain hurt their ears. From the sound of things, the first hit hadn't done it.

"You can do it, Tracy," Harry whispered.

"Don't talk," she said tensely, twitching her wand slightly.

"Sorry."

With one last groan of pain, the troll collapsed with a crash that shook the floor beneath them. Tracy exhaled sharply and leaned back against the door frame.

"Well done, Tracy," Draco said. Sadie hugged and kissed her friend.

When they had moved on and firmly shut the door behind them in the smell-free room beyond, they thankfully took a great many breaths of fresh air. The room they were presently in contained nothing very frightening at all. There was only a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"This would be Professor Snape's challenge," Draco said.

When they had all moved away from the door, a purple fire burst into life in the doorway, making them jump. In that same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Definitely Professor Snape's," Daphne observed dryly.

"Here's a clue," Millie said, picking up a roll of parchment lying next to the bottles. She read it aloud:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant hold death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

As she read, Millie's face fell more and more. She was clearly overwhelmed by the puzzle, just as Harry was. This was tricky business. One wrong move and they'd be dead. Despite their dismay, Daphne was smiling.

"This is brilliant. I'd expect no less from Professor Snape," she said admiringly.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked her.

"It's not magic," she said. "Not proper magic at all. It's a logic puzzle. It involves critical thinking."

"And wizards don't exactly behave logically, is that what you're saying?" Harry asked.

"Blunt but true," said Sadie, grinning. "So Daphne, you can solve it?"

She nodded. "As pure-bloods, we're rather immune to the fact that magic is not completely logical. In fact, more than half of it is rather illogical. This sort of puzzle would trip up most fully-trained wizards."

"And also us," Draco pointed out.

"Not at all," Daphne scoffed. "Use your brain. All the information we need is right here on the paper. There are seven bottles. Three contain poison; two hold wine; one will let us go forward; the last will let us go back.

"Huh?" Goyle was baffled.

"Well, since the poison is always on the wine's left, the first bottle has to be poison," she said.

"Huh?" Draco questioned.

"The parchment says that the bottle on either end are not our friends to move forward. These two here," she pointed, "are the same, wine. The fourth and fifth bottles here are poison, both on the wine's left side, note, and the potion to go back is in the one on the right. That leaves the small bottle, number three, to help us go forward."

Harry picked up the bottle. It was nearly full, but there still wasn't much in it. "I think me and Sadie."

Sadie stood beside him. "Thank you all so much for helping. We can't ask you to come with us."

A very significant statement. Sadie wouldn't want them to be hurt obviously, but there was also the other problem… what if Quirrell revealed he was on Voldemort's side? Where would their loyalties lie?

"Really?" Draco said. "Would you leave me here?"

"Thanks for coming this far," Harry said sincerely.

Tracy, Millie, and Daphne looked at each other.

"You figured out the riddle," Millie said to Daphne.

"Tracy beat the troll."

"Millie-" Tracy said and stopped short. "Oh Millie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, you're right," Millie said heavily. "I've been pretty useless. I couldn't figure any of these challenges out. Why should I be able to beat any others? I'll go back as well."

"Millie, thank you for coming with me."

"Sorry, Harry. I wish I could see you through."

"Aww," Daphne said with disappointment. "Good luck, though."

Goyle clasped Harry's hand in an iron grip. Millie looked at him for a long second before she also hugged him. When Daphne's turn came, she squeezed his ribs briefly and tousled his hair.

"Be careful, ok?" she said. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "For luck."

Harry looked at Draco, who nodded. "Good luck. Give Quirrell a hex for me."

Tracy grimaced, then she gathered Sadie up in her arms and kissed her fiercely on the mouth. "Don't go. If anything happened to you…"

Sadie kissed her back, just as fiercely, but then pulled away. "But I must, dear." She sounded sad. "Where I go, you cannot follow. I really hope we see you again soon, my love. I've loved you for so long…"

Harry felt as though the rest of them were witnessing something that ought to be private between the two girls. He wanted to distract himself, so he took a deep breath and uncorked the bottle. "Here goes…" he drank as small a sip as he could.

It was as though ice were flooding his body. This is what Snape had meant about "the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins." He handed the bottle to Sadie and stepped forward into the flames. Though he braced himself, he could feel nothing.

Harry saw nothing but black flames. It was rather like he imagined stepping into a black hole might feel. Complete, baffling, disorienting darkness engulfed him. There was suddenly no stone floor beneath his feet. He couldn't feel the walls around him.

He panicked briefly, but he forced himself to relax. It was just like Professor Snape to throw a nasty trick into his test. It was only the magic. Harry felt a warm reassurance spread out from his stomach, erasing the icy chill of the potion he had swallowed. He let his body continue on, though he could not feel it. Then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.

Harry looked around, taking in the rich, finished marble. The room didn't look so much assembled as carved from the very rock of the Earth. Torches flamed to life, illuminating a great empty room with one very familiar object in it: The Mirror of Erised.

Sadie staggered into view. Harry caught her before she fell.

"Steady now."

He looked around and gave a start. There was someone else here with them, shimmering into view…


	20. The Mind Parasite

It was Professor Quirrell.

"You!" said Harry, grimacing.

"I knew it," said Sadie grimly.

Quirrell gave a twisted smile. He wasn't twitching at all. Something was definitely very wrong here.

"Potter," he said beaming, his eyes crazy. "He said you'd be here. He didn't think of your melted-doll faced chum, though. He usually doesn't think girls are important enough to consider."

The kids stared at him in astonishment. Was Quirrell drunk, or high on a recreational potion?

"He thinks you're too nosy to live though, Potter. Well he would think that. I was too nosey to live, did you know that? That's why my life ended."

"Listen, Professor," said Sadie in a voice of forced calm. "Please... You don't have to serve that vile creature."

"Too late, McIntyre," said Quirrell gloomily.

"Then I'm sorry…" Sadie raised her wand, but Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes appeared out of thin air, binding both kids tight.

Sadie gave a little cry and struggled, but she only succeeded in falling over.

"My master taught me that," said Quirrell. "I found him on my travels. If you gaze too long into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes back at you." He shuddered. "I can't get him out of my head!"

Quirrell gave a hollow laugh at that point, and to Harry's horror, his eyes glowed red, just like in Harry's nightmare.

"No… Quirrell can't get me out until I'm done with him, and by then his life will be over. Wait quietly for death, while I examine this intriguing mirror. The mirror is the key to finding the stone. Typical of Dumbledore to come up with something like this. But he is in London now and when he returns, I'll have got away with my prize."

Sadie struggled harder and she stared at Quirrell, her eyes almost seeming to start out of the holes in her disfigured green face.

"Voldemort" said Harry with loathing. "I knew it was you. I knew it all along."

"All along?" sneered Voldemort's voice through Quirrell's mouth. "Ha! You had to have it spelled out for you. I can see into your tiny mind."

"You've taken Quirrell over," blurted Harry.

"He is a means to an end," Voldemort replied. "A foolish young man he was, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. I showed him how wrong he was."

"I'm not wrong now!" Said Quirrell, touching his head. "His thoughts are in my head. He is evil, cruel, petty and so, so wearing!"

Harry could see Sadie's blue eyes in the holes in her mask. They were shining with tears at this weird exchange.

Quirrell turned to the Mirror again. "I tried to teach the fool that there is only power and those too weak to seek it," said Voldemort. "Since then he served me, but not always with success. I do not forgive mistakes easily. When he failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, I was most displeased. I had to punish him. Keep a closer watch on him…"

Harry's mind was flashing back to the day in Diagon Alley. He had seen Quirrell that day, had witnessed his theatrics in the Leaky Cauldron. He tried to loosen the ropes, but they were too tight.

Voldemort began to mutter. "The Stone is inside the Mirror? How? Should I break it? No… too facile. I can see myself, all-powerful and immortal as I should be. But where is the Stone? Perhaps if I use the boy."

"No! Don't hurt him. Use me instead," cried Sadie.

But Voldemort clapped Quirrell's hands together and the ropes binding Harry fell to the ground.

"Come here Potter and gaze into the mirror!" Quirrell held him at wandpoint.

"Harry…" said Sadie, gazing at him in horror.

Harry moved cautiously to the mirror, wary that the madman might grab at him. He stared into the mirror and saw his reflection, pale and scared looking. In a moment, he saw a vision of Cora and Professor Snape coming up behind Quirrell, stunning and binding him and then dragging him away. If only!

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," lied Harry. "I've won the House Cup for Slytherin."

"Well that didn't work, Master. What now?" asked Quirrell.

"You're lying," said Voldemort coolly. "I will stare into your mind."

Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Terrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The purple cloth fell away, revealing Quirrell's bare head, which looked strangely small now. Then Quirrell turned around.

Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been the back of Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. It was the stuff of nightmares. Sadie screamed out loud.

"Harry Potter," the lipless mouth whispered.

Harry was trapped, pinned between the wall of flame and his own terror. His scar seared in pain, like it was on fire. He had to fight back the urge to vomit.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapour, that is all I am. I have form only when I can share the body of another. Unicorn blood can strengthen me, as you saw in the forest, but the Elixir of Life can restore my old glory, and I will create a new body for myself. I can see in your worthless mind that you cannot get the Stone out of the mirror… the worthless must die."

"No!" yelled Sadie. "Don't kill him. I haven't tried yet."

"Oh, why not?" said Voldemort, clapping Quirrell's hands together so that Sadie was unbound as well.

Sadie walked carefully up to the mirror. Then her blue eyes widened through the holes in her mask and she put her little hands on the glass. "Yes… I have the Elixir … I am the true Dark Healer of our age… I've brought the benefits of all magic to the Muggles and everyone lives in happiness and harmony… praise the Darkness!"

"A unique viewpoint in our world, McIntyre," said Quirrell. "Well Master, it appears that didn't work either."

"Urgh! You sicken me, girl," sneered Voldemort, his nightmare face contorting. "An absolute disgrace to Slytherin House and wizard-kind everywhere. Even in the other three Houses, literally no one cares about the Muggles or has any guilt about mindwiping them for convenience, or living parasitically off them or treating them like vermin in any other way. Their views are essentially the same as mine. Incidentally, I sense also that in your dreamworld, your face is not deformed? In any case, Muggles are vermin fit only for extermination. You must be exterminated too."

Voldemort raised Quirrell's wand with jerky movements.

"NEVER!" Harry raised his own wand. He didn't know what spell he cast, but the jet of blue light he fired from his wand was deflected away by some sort of shield.

"No chance, Potter," said Quirrell regretfully.

"Seize him!" Voldemort screamed. Quirrell whirled around and clamped his hand down on Harry's wrist. At once, pain seared across Harry's scar with greater intensity, and his head felt as if it were splitting in two again.

Harry yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head lessened. He looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers, which were blistering before his eyes.

Sadie gasped, then raised her wand and fired purple light at Quirrell, but this was also deflected by whatever magical shield Voldemort had.

"I'm burning!" Quirrell cried.

"Seize him!" Voldemort shrieked again. Quirrell dove at Harry, landing on top of him, and he wrapped his hands around Harry's throat. The pain from Harry's scar was nearly blinding him, yet he could see and hear Quirrell howling in agony. Sadie wrapped her little arms around Quirrell's throat, but he shrugged her off easily and she fell onto the stone floor.

"Master, I cannot touch him! It burns me so!"

And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the floor with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his hands as they blistered and smoked. Harry could see the flesh looked burned and raw.

"Then kill him!" shrieked Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hands to perform some deadly magic, but Harry lunged up and clapped his own hands to Quirrell's face.

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell scrambled to get away from him, his face blistering just like his hands. Then Harry figured it out: Quirrell couldn't bear the touch of his bare skin. Harry could use that against him.

Harry managed to get his feet under him and sprang at Quirrell, falling on top of him down to the floor. He had to keep the possessed wizard in enough pain that he couldn't cast a deadly spell. He grabbed for Quirrell's face. The silver locket his mother had given him at Christmas was ticking, like it was alive. Of course, it reacted to strong emotion and pain. His mother would likely be aware of his pain via her locket at this time.

Quirrell was screaming in agony. Voldemort was screeching for Quirrell to kill Harry.

"Hold him, Harry!" cried Sadie. His green-faced friend had picked herself up. She now had a little purple crystal. The pain in Harry's head was building, but as Quirrell screamed, Sadie forced the crystal into his mouth. Quirrell choked.

Sadie looked at Harry in alarm. Harry could feel his head pounding with pain and blackness crept into the edges of his vision. Sadie grabbed his arms with her little hands and pulled him away. The pain in his head lessened. Quirrell was convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Sadie put her arms around Harry.

"Modern Medean Magic," murmured Sadie, her breath tickling Harry's ear as she stood on tiptoe to whisper to him. "Expelling magical parasites with a drop of darkness. I may have cured Quirrell. I hope so."

She turned to glare at the convulsing form on the floor. "You like living parasitically, you monster? Well no more."

Quirrell's mouth gaped open, and a cloud of shadow and vapour issued from it. The vapour took the form of a terrible face, the face of Voldemort, with slits for nostrils and glaring, demonic eyes. "You cannot kill what does not live… I will be back…"

Sadie screamed an incantation and her wand fired purple light at the evil one, but to no avail. The evil essence flew over to a crack in the wall and disappeared.

Sadie gritted her teeth and balled her little hands into fists. Then her expression changed and she knelt beside Quirrell who was lying on the floor, vomiting blood. She turned his head into what she had once told Harry was the recovery position. "Professor, you'll be OK," she said, her voice quivering. "I-I hope you will be."

"I-I don't know McIntyre," stammered Quirrell. "Do I deserve to be OK? Perhaps it would be better if I just died now."

"Don't talk like that…!" Sadie sounded agitated.

Then there was the sound of footfalls and Professor Dumbledore came sweeping into the chamber. "My faithful Slytherins… what a credit you both are to your house. Young heroes!"

"Help us, Professor!" cried Sadie.

Professor Snape came sweeping in after him. "Potter. McIntyre. What did I tell you about reckless adventures and putting your lives in danger? Your mothers will not be pleased any better than I am."

Harry's mother… Harry felt his insides squirm in guilt. For the first time ever, he dreaded facing his mother.


	21. Secrets, Lies and Masks

Harry, Sadie and Quirrell were rushed to the Hospital Wing to check them over. Madame Pomfrey understood why they couldn't go to St Mungo's. These events had to be kept secret. No one needed to know just how close Voldemort had come to returning. A phoney explanation had to be given. A malicious, foreign wizard had placed him under the Imperius Curse. That would do. Now the curse was broken.

Sadie and Harry were fine as it turned out, but Madame Pomfrey insisted they stay in the Hospital Wing a few days. Quirrell would have to spend a long time recuperating.

Their Headmaster and Head of House came by to visit. Dumbledore, Snape and the kids stood around Quirrell's bed.

"I must say," Quirrell said, "you're being awfully generous about all this. I didn't just make an ass of myself. I made a monster of myself."

Sadie put a little hand on his shoulder, her eyes anxious through the holes in her mask. "But you are alright now."

"Indeed Quirinius, you are." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "Young Sadie has saved you from Voldemort. I admit, that I had given up hope that you could be saved. Voldemort would have let you die. He shows as little mercy to his followers as he does to his enemies. So, you have young Sadie to thank for your life and soul being restored to you, even if her methods were a little… ahh… unconventional. You have your life, but your magic powers are lost beyond recall."

Sadie stuck out the overlarge green bottom lip of her mask and nodded. "T-That is a possible side effect of a drastic Medean exorcism. The type for the worst kind of parasite."

"I thank you for saving me, my darling child," said Quirrell. "I have my soul again. Magic is but little loss. You earned the high mark I gave you in Defence."

Sadie smiled sadly and nodded.

"There are still things he can do," said Madame Pomfrey briskly. "How about if Quirinius took over the History of Magic position?"

"My dear child, are you asking me to sack poor Binns?"

"Binns needs to go, Dumbledore," said Snape. "He's literally incapable of adapting his material to the needs of the students."

"I am rather fond of history," said Quirrell timidly.

Dumbledore seemed to consider this. "Perhaps the position needs someone to bring new life to it."

"Or any life at all," said Snape scornfully. "Now you two…" Harry and Sadie looked up. "Albus commends your loyalty and reckless daring, but I will say that I do not approve. Nonetheless, there will be no punishment. If you were in his old house, no doubt Albus would give you points."

"Really, Severus," said Dumbledore. "It gladdens my heart that Hogwarts can turn out students of such loyalty and integrity, ready to put their lives on the line for the greater good and thwart Lord Voldemort. Besides, young McIntyre saved her teacher's life. She was the only one not to give up hope on saving a life. You must agree she deserves credit for that at least."

Snape rolled his eyes.

"It's sad that anyone would give up on saving a life," said Sadie. "And it still sickens me that any of our kind could have supported a monster like You-Know-Who."

"Well said," said Dumbledore.

"Where is the Stone now?" asked Harry

"The Stone is disposed of," said Dumbledore. "Along with the Mirror of Erised. Nicolas has others. The Mirror is too dangerous to be at large."

Sadie gave a great sigh of relief. "Good, I'm so glad Flamel has other Stones. That's a weight off my mind."

"Sir?" Harry asked after a time. "Even if the Stone is gone, Voldemort's still out there. He's going to try other ways to come back, isn't he?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid he will. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may have only delayed his return power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight a losing battle next time, and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power. Now my two young heroes… your mothers will want to see you. Jamie is still busy at St Mungo's and accepted my written assurance that her daughter is fine, but Cora has been very eager to enter the Hospital Wing. She has become quite excitable."

Harry felt butterflies in his stomach. Snape's disapproval would be nothing, nothing at all compared to his mother's disappointment that he put himself in danger.

Sadie slipped her little hand in his.

Cora burst into the Hospital Wing. She looked terrible. He blue eyes were streaked with green (her version of being bloodshot – she did have green blood). Obviously, she'd been crying. Her red hair was dishevelled. Harry felt a surge of guilt at the look she gave him. Dumbledore restrained her, gripping both her green arms in his long fingered hands. "Calm yourself, my dear Cora. Remember, my staff should not show great outbursts of emotion."

Snape gave him a sardonic look.

"Is it true?" Cora stared almost wildly at them, her blue eyes appearing to start out of her green head. Her voice sounded choked. "You went charging into danger with that maniac on the prowl…? How you could…?"

Then she sagged in Dumbledore's grip. "Dumbledore, please, I just want to hug them. I am calm, honest."

Dumbledore released her and she grabbed them both in her arms, hugging and kissing them fiercely, her tears dripping onto them both.

Madame Pomfrey stroked her long red hair. "There, there, dear. I for one agree with you."

"You should be proud of their heroism, Cora," said Dumbledore. "Harry has thwarted Lord Voldemort a second time. The evil one failed to kill him as a baby and now he has failed yet again. It is heart-warming indeed, don't you agree?"

Cora rounded on Dumbledore. "And why did he want to kill Harry in the first place? Tell me the truth, Headmaster."

"The truth," Dumbledore sighed. "The truth, Cora, is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. I shall answer your questions as best I am able, unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I must beg your forgiveness. I shall not, of course, lie to you." Dumbledore sighed. "Alas, the first thing you ask of me, I cannot tell you. Not today, not now. I must ask you to put the question from your mind, dear girl. I will tell you one day, Harry, when you are older. It is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe you are ready now. When you are, you will know."

"Rubbish!" stormed Cora. "You are deliberately withholding things." She breathed through her green nose, her blue eyes glinting and her bosom rising and falling.

"Secrets and lies… they have always been part of the magical world," said Snape.

"I'm afraid it is so," said Dumbledore. "It is because we live in a hidden world, that secrets and lies are a part of life."

"Wish we didn't," said Sadie sadly. "I hate that there's no harmony between Magic and Muggle. There's so much we can do for each other."

"I for one agree with you, but I cannot overrule the Ministry for Magic, or make others see the truth to life," said Dumbledore smoothly. "I do try to learn from the Muggles for my part. I read the Muggle newspapers as well."

Sadie smiled at him with the lips of her mask.

"I'm not interested in your secrets and lies, Dumbledore," said Cora. "Not when my boy's life is at stake."

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard. We must bow before his judgement," said Snape, his expression unreadable. Madame Pomfrey was looking at Dumbledore askance. But Cora folded her arms and glared, the lamplight shining off her green nose and cheeks. Probably she realised she would get no more from Dumbledore. At any rate, she did not interrogate him further.

00O00

Madam Pomfrey was a nice woman, but she was very strict. Visiting times had to be tightly scheduled. Harry and Sadie pleaded with her at length before she finally relented and gave permission for their friends to visit. Even so, she restricted them to coming in one at a time, and then only for very short visits.

"Harry! Sadie!" Draco exclaimed as he rushed in the door. "How are you? Not faking it, I hope?"

Sadie chuckled and hugged him.

"Hello, Draco," Harry smiled. "All right?"

"We've been so worried about you both," Draco told him. "Pansy's eating everything in sight that Crabbe and Goyle haven't got to first - Tracy has stopped eating. Millie's restless."

"We're fine," Harry assured him. " I've had worse."

"We both have," said Sadie nodding, her purple hair rippling and bouncing. "Don't worry Draco. We're coming out of the Hospital Wing tomorrow."

"Just in time for the end-of-year feast," Draco said gleefully. "The points are all in, and we flattened the other Houses. Gryffindor were smashed in their match against Ravenclaw and have come bottom for both cups. Weasley is livid."

"Good." Harry was delighted that his House had taken both Cups once again this year and proud that he had been a part of their victories.

Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to come bustling over. "All right, Mister Malfoy, that's enough. The others are starting to froth at the mouth a bit. Get you gone."

Draco got to his feet. Under Madam Pomfrey's stern gaze, he slouched out the door.

"Harry! Sadie, my love!" Tracy squealed as she flew to their side. She hugged Harry as best she could, her sudden weight driving the air from his lungs. Blonde hair covered his eyes and the smell of Tracy's shampoo invaded his nostrils. Harry felt her lips mushed into his cheek. Then she grabbed Sadie in her arms and kissed her fiercely all over her mask. "Don't you ever worry me like that again," she said fiercely. She was crying and Harry could tell that this time, her tears were genuine. She hugged Sadie so fiercely that the small girl squeaked and wriggled in her arms. "Don't be so stupid again. I won't let you." Harry supposed that she regretted letting Sadie follow him at all.

The remainder of the visits were very low-key. Mostly they made small talk; sometimes they just sat together.

After the visits, Harry was tired. He began to doze off. His head tipped to the side, and the unruly black hair fell away from the scar on his forehead.

Sadie snuggled down in the bed beside him and nuzzled his neck with her cold, mannequin face. "Rest easy, dear Harry."

After a good night's sleep, Harry felt almost himself again. The two of them were awake bright and early in the morning.

Trying not to run, they walked as quickly as he could down to the Great Hall where the first year Slytherins were standing outside the doors.

"You're late," Draco drawled at them. "Lazybones."

"Draco!" Daphne admonished him.

Tracy didn't waste words, but started hugging and kissing Sadie again.

The doors opened and the Slytherins were bathed in a glow of light. The Great Hall was completely decked out in the Slytherin colours of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning of the House Cup, which was displayed at one end of the Slytherin table with the prefects. The Quidditch Cup was on display at the other end with the Quidditch team. A huge serpent banner covered the wall behind the High Table.

The dull roar in the Hall hushed suddenly, and then after a couple of uncomfortable moments, Harry raised his chin and marched over to sit down with the team. The others took the seats that had purposely been left empty nearby.

Dumbledore and the other Professors arrived moments later. The babble that had gradually resumed died away. As the Professors took their seats, the Headmaster remained standing.

"Another year gone!" he said cheerfully. "And now I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we tuck into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were. You have the whole summer to get them nice and empty before next year starts.

"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs official presenting. The final points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred seventy points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred eighty-three points; in second, Ravenclaw, with four hundred twenty and Slytherin, five hundred three."

A storm of cheering broke out across the Slytherin table, Harry cheering as loud as the rest. Flint raised up the Quidditch Cup in both hands and waved it around. Bole and Derrick started a chant of "Sly-Ther-In!"

The cheering took some time to die down. Harry could see Professor Snape looking very eerie, wearing what appeared to be a smile. He looked over at Harry, as if he knew he was being watched, and nodded slightly as if to say, 'Well done.'

"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore said at last. "And now, let us feast!"

Harry set to the food with a ravenous appetite. He would have liked to avoid questions about what had happened down in the dungeons entirely, but his teammates were eager to hear about the test with the keys. He stayed away from the subject of Quirrell and especially anything having to do with Voldemort. That must be kept secret. Draco, Tracy and the rest had no idea they had helped their two friends defy the former Dark Lord. After awhile the topic changed, and he began to actively participate in the conversation.

Harry loved life at Hogwarts. He would remember the feast for the rest of his life. He would not forget the feeling he'd gotten when one of the sixth year girls, Heather Duke, brought out a camera to take pictures of the Quidditch team together with the prefects and both Cups. Pictures of all kinds were taken, at both the feast and the after-feast which happened back in the Slytherin common room.

The after-feast involved loud music, lots of sweets, and plenty of silliness on behalf of everyone. Niles the prefect assured him that this was typical of the end-of-year celebration when the House had taken both Cups. "Or just one of the Cups," he added reflectively. "Or any time we're not under the stress of school. You'll find out about those parties when you're older."

"Why just for the older kids? We've got stress too," Theo objected.

"It involves alcohol," Pansy said, pulling a weird face. She and Theo held hands. Since the showdown with the giant chess pieces, they acknowledged their feelings for one another.

Harry didn't know what time he went to bed, but the sun was starting to rise over the lake when he finally shut his curtains. He was out cold in half a heartbeat.

Exam results came the next day at breakfast, and Harry opened his as eagerly as everyone else. To his extreme satisfaction, he passed with excellent marks all around. Harry's best mark was Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was best in the year at that subject. He had scored even higher than Draco, Hermione, Sadie and even Theo and Tracy. His second-best mark was in Potions. Harry knew he'd earned it all.

The morning was spent comparing marks with everyone else. Theo and Tracy had done the best of the first year Slytherins. In fact, only Terry Boot of Ravenclaw and Hermione Granger of Gryffindor had scored higher marks overall. Even Crabbe and Goyle had managed to scrape overall passes, though barely.

In the few short hours they had remaining, wardrobes were emptied, trunks were packed, and notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays.

Harry would be staying with his mother in her little garret room at Hogwarts over the summer. Only Sadie knew all about her and precisely when Harry would be at Hogwarts. Cora had calmed down now that her son would be under her eye for the vacation.

"You must come and stay with us again," said Sadie, winking at him.

"You may also pay us a short visit at Malfoy Manor," said Draco loftily. "There. Aren't I good to you?"

They laughed at his silly tone.

00O00

In the dorm that night, Sadie payed Harry a short visit, although Tracy was insisting that her green-faced friend sleep with her tonight.

"We did extraordinary things together. Didn't we, Dark Healer?" said Harry. "We're a dream team."

She put her little arms around him. Her mask rippled as her features underneath moved to form a kissy face. "We've only just started. Wish I could say more now, but I will say this. I've realised what power my mask did boost. It was Occlumency. I hated You-Know-Who probing my mind in the Mirror Chamber and started studying Occlumency." She held up a scroll of old parchment. "I smuggled this into the Hospital Wing. It seems I'm the perfect Occlumens, 'cause I'm always wearing a magical mask. All I had to do was try. I can block out You-Know-Who. I can even block Dumbledore, and he's easily the smarter of the two."

"Huh. You've blocked Dumbledore with Occlumency? In the Hospital Wing? Why? What were you keeping from him? What were you lying to him about?"

She tapped her shiny green nose. "Can't tell, in case he should probe your mind. I had to do what I did. Anyway, he kept stuff from us… from you especially, and that's not fair, is it?"

"So it's fair to trick him in return?"

She kissed his cheek with the cold lips of her green mask. "It's for the good of everyone."

00O00

The next morning after an early breakfast, the other Slytherins all piled into horseless carriages for a bumpy ride down to Hogsmeade Station. Harry hugged and kissed Tracy and Sadie goodbye and shook hands with Draco. Now he had the Summer at Hogwarts ahead of him. Harry walked back to the castle where his mother was waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is Sadie's secret? What has she done that she doesn't want Dumbledore to know about? And why was she relieved that Flamel has other Stones?


	22. Sequel is up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter and the Dark Healer Year Two is up!

The sequel to Harry Potter and the Dark Healer is up!

It is titled Harry Potter and the Dark Healer Year Two and can be found on my profile.

How will Harry and Sadie fare against the Basilisk? Will Sadie want to try her hand at curing petrification?

A big thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers!


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